Dehydration means a lack of body water. Terminal dehydration is dehydration in a dying patient, in which he is no longer able to take in the required amount of fluid. It is a harbinger of impending death. The current guideline on Dehydration and Fluid Administration mainly focuses on the symptoms of dehydration and the considerations that play a role in the decision whether or not to administer fluid to patients with a life expectancy of days to a maximum of one to two weeks.
Revision current guideline
The current version of the guideline ‘Dehydration and fluid administration in the palliative phase’ comes from 2010. We now have more knowledge about this subject. Therefore, this guideline is being revised by the Working Group Guideline Dehydration and Fluid Administration, chaired by Prof. dr. Dr JJM (Hans) van Delden, professor of medical ethics at UMC Utrecht, specialist in geriatric medicine (np). The working group includes representatives of doctors, nurses and physiotherapists. The process guidance is provided by IKNL.
The guideline is being revised on an evidence-based basis. To this end, we ask care providers what bottlenecks they experience in practice regarding dehydration and fluid administration in the palliative phase.
Questions about bottlenecks from practice
In order to collect the bottlenecks, we ask you to complete this bottleneck survey. The guideline working group has already identified a number of bottlenecks. With this survey we ask you to prioritize these bottlenecks. You can also indicate other bottlenecks in care related to dehydration and fluid administration. The most important bottlenecks are elaborated in the guideline.
The bottleneck survey can be completed until September 5 at the latest expectant. It takes a maximum of 10 minutes to complete. It is possible to receive the results of the survey in a fact sheet. If you wish to receive this, you can indicate this at the end of the survey.