Drugs Used for Euthanasia: A Repeated Population-Based Mortality Follow-Back Study in Flanders, Belgium, 1998–2013

According to guideline recommendations, barbiturates and neuromuscular relaxants are the recommended drugs for euthanasia. To describe changes over time in drugs used to perform euthanasia and differences in case characteristics according to the drugs used. Repeated population-based mortality follow...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of pain and symptom management 2018-10, Vol.56 (4), p.551-559
Main Authors: Dierickx, Sigrid, Cohen, Joachim, Vander Stichele, Robert, Deliens, Luc, Chambaere, Kenneth
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Barbiturates
Drugs
end-of-life decision making
Euthanasia
Mortality
Pain
Palliative care
physician-assisted dying
Physicians
Population-based studies
practice guidelines
Sedation
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Summary:According to guideline recommendations, barbiturates and neuromuscular relaxants are the recommended drugs for euthanasia. To describe changes over time in drugs used to perform euthanasia and differences in case characteristics according to the drugs used. Repeated population-based mortality follow-back study among physicians attending a large representative sample of deaths in 1998, 2007, and 2013 in Flanders, Belgium. In 1998, we identified 25 euthanasia cases (1.2% of all deaths), 142 cases in 2007 (2.0% of all deaths), and 349 cases in 2013 (4.6% of all deaths). Use of recommended drugs to perform euthanasia increased from 11.9% of euthanasia cases in 1998 to 55.3% in 2007 and 66.8% in 2013 (P 
ISSN:0885-3924
1873-6513
DOI:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2018.06.015