Respite Sedation

The concept of respite sedation involves sedating a patient for a predetermined interval, such as 24-48 hours, then downwardly titrating the sedative dose until consciousness reappears (Rousseau 2001).

With respite sedation, second-guessing and reassessment by clinicians and family members may be feasible (Rousseau 2001, 2000) (Quill 1997), but, more importantly, patients may break a cycle of anxiety and insomnia that precipitated the request for palliative sedation, abolishing the need for further sedation.