The use of hypodermoclysis for rehydration in terminally ill cancer patients.
The need to treat dehydration in terminally ill patients to minimize symptom distress remains a controversial issue. Hypodermoclysis (HDC) is a simple technique for rehydration that offers many advantages over the intravenous route. In this prospective open study of 100 consecutive patients who died on a palliative care unit, we recorded our indications for, and use of, HDC. Of the 100 patients, 69 received HDC for an average of 14 +/- 18 days during an average admission of 35 +/- 41 days. The 31 patients who did not receive HDC had an average admission of 22 +/- 24 days, and appeared to have different characteristics than the HDC group. HDC was well tolerated in most patients at an average volume of 1203 +/- 505 mL/day. These results confirm that HDC for dehydration is a safe and effective technique and suggest the need for further research to clarify the role of rehydration in assisting symptom control.
Palliative Care Program, Edmonton General Hospital, Alberta, Canada.
R L
RL
Fainsinger
T
T
MacEachern
M J
MJ
Miller
E
E
Bruera
K
K
Spachynski
N
N
Kuehn
J
J
Hanson
D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005440:Fluid Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000379:methods*