Peaceful surrender to death without futile bargaining to live relieves terminal air hunger and anguish.
The case report emphasizes the management of "terminal air hunger and anguish'' as a major challenge for the palliative care physicians. Truthful and compassionate terminal counseling of the patient and terminal sedation allowed us to control this distressing final phase of dying in the metastatic lung disease and enabled the patient to take her last breath peacefully.
Das
Subir C
SC
Department of Anesthesiology, Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
Chauhan
Himanshu
H
Gupta
Deepak
D
Mishra
Seema
S
Bhatnagar
Sushma
S
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001293:Attitude to Death; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D016292:Procedural Sedation / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D003376:Counseling / Q000379:methods*; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary; D018447:Medical Futility / Q000523:psychology; D017008:Negotiating / Q000523:psychology*; D010102:Oxygen Inhalation Therapy; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011379:Prognosis; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D014342:Truth Disclosure