Four centres routinely performed septostomy under general anaesthetic, 4 sedation, and 5 used both.
He limits pain medications due to his concerns about sedation and its effects on his liver.
The authors also suggest a variety of drugs and dosages to use for terminal sedation.
Even such situations as childbirth, where pain is culturally acceptable, have become occasions for the use of sedation.
Extreme sedation may also be used as treatment for some severe illnesses or injuries.
Only one patient required mild sedation for study.
From a practical point of view, we have found few patients in whom these data cannot be obtained, although infants may require mild sedation.
Further investigation of the use of sedation and analgesia for dying infants is needed.
