Palliative sedation in the treatment of existential suffering in end-of-life patients: protocol for an integrative review

Background and aimExistential suffering is among the main symptoms refractory to treatment in people at the end of life. There is evidence in the literature on the use of palliative sedation, the controlled administration of sedative medication with the purpose of inducing a state of reduced consciousness or unconsciousness to relieve unbearable suffering experienced by people with terminal illnesses, to control existential suffering. This article presents the protocol for an integrative review which aims to analyze the evidence available in the literature on the use of palliative sedation to manage existential suffering in people with serious end-of-life illnesses.MethodsThis is an integrative review protocol based on the steps described by Whittemore and Knalf, and reported in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P). A comprehensive search strategy including carefully selected terms corresponding to the domains of interest (palliative sedation and existential suffering) will be used to search for the relevant literature in the PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE databases. The Endnote and Rayyan softwares will be used for data management.DiscussionThis integrative review aims to identify existing gaps and contribute to the presentation of information that may contribute to settling the controversy regarding the use of palliative sedation to manage refractory existential suffering at the end of life.RegistrationOpen Science Framework (https://osf.io/qrpbf/).