Treatment changes toward palliative care allowed the
patients the opportunity to die in their rooms alongside
their families in a more humanistic way or even in the
ICU, but in a dignified manner. One third of the patients
received palliative sedation, which is a justifiable procedure
from a legal ethical point of view and which aims to
relieve intolerable and treatment-refractory symptoms,
reduce pain, provide comfort and relieve the patient of
intolerable distress. This measure is widely recognized as
the appropriate approach to end-of-life care and should
not be confused with euthanasia, which aims to hasten
death; instead, palliative sedation is intended to bring
comfort and dignity to the patient and family.