Abstract
The need to treat dehydration in terminally ill patients to minimize symptom distress remains a controversial issue. Hypodermoclysis (HDC) is a simple technique for rehydtation 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.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 298-302 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Journal of pain and symptom management |
Volume | 9 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 1994 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Hypodermoclysis
- cancer
- dehydration
- terminally ill
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Nursing
- Clinical Neurology
- Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine