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This study examines how frequently and for what indications sedatives are prescribed in a hospital support team and in a hospice. We also looked at the survival of sedated patients from the date of admission and from the start of sedation.

Overall 26% of patients were prescribed sedatives in order to sedate them (31 % at the hospice and 21 % at the hospital) and 43% of patients were given sedatives for symptom control (67% at the hospice and 21 % at the hospital). Sedated patients survived for a mean of 1.3 days after the start of sedation, and there was no detectable difference in survival from the date of admission between sedated and nonsedated patients.