Quality of care in palliative sedation: audit and compliance monitoring of a clinical protocol.
BACKGROUND
The European Association for Palliative Care and the U.S. National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization have published statements that recommend an audit of palliative sedation practices.


OBJECTIVE
The aim was to assess the feasibility of a quality care project in palliative sedation.


METHODS
We carried out an audit of adherence to a guideline regarding palliative sedation, undertaken as a yearly assessment during two years, of a sample of patient charts. With an audit tool, the charts were evaluated as to the presence of the ethical sedation checklist, information that justified palliative sedation, patient and/or family agreement, and the appropriateness of treatment in concordance with the clinical protocol. An educational program and result feedback meetings were used as the implementation strategy.


RESULTS
Roughly 25% of the medical charts of patients who died in the palliative care unit were evaluated, 94 in 2007 and 110 in 2008. In 2007 and 2008, 63% and 57% of the patients, respectively, whose median age was 65 years, were sedated, with a median length of two days. The main reason for sedation was agitation concomitant with respiratory failure in roughly 60% and 75% of the cases in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Agreement of the patient/family about sedation was collected from 100% of the cases. The concordance of procedures with the sedation guideline was 100% in both years.


CONCLUSIONS
Our quality-of-care strategy was shown to obtain a higher level of compliance with the palliative sedation guideline for at least two years.
Palliative Care Unit, Nuestra Señora de Candelaria University Hospital, Tenerife, Spain. mabenros@gmail.com
Miguel Angel
MA
Benitez-Rosario
Manuel
M
Castillo-Padrós
Belén
B
Garrido-Bernet
Belen
B
Ascanio-León
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016292:Procedural Sedation / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000592:standards*; D017051:Hospice Care / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000592:standards*