Palliative sedation in Latin America: survey on practices and attitudes.

Introduction: Palliative sedation (PS) is the subject of ethical and legal debates worldwide. Statistics of its utilization are available in developed countries; however, in Latin America, these data are scarcely known. The purpose of this research was to determine the practices and attitudes of palliativists in Latin America towards PS.

Materials And Methods: Data was collected during the Latin American Congress on Palliative Care in Isla Margarita, Venezuela. A total of 89 professionals participated in this survey.

Results: It was found that the use of PS was positively associated with being a physician and being members of a palliative care (PC) group. On the other hand, it was found that being a psychologist and identifying barriers toward PS limited its utilization.

Discussion: The findings of this study support the need to establish clinical guidelines for its utilization and to educate other specialists on end-of-life care approaches, and the need to develop PC programs in acute care hospitals in Latin America.