Dying With Dementia

Advanced dementia is increasingly being regarded as a terminal disease (1, 2). Studies in English-speaking countries have led to the conclusion that the palliative care of patients with dementia at the end of their lives is now inadequately adapted to their special needs, not only for those dying at home, but also for those dying in hospitals and nursing homes (3, 4). Insufficient symptom control, failure to recognize that the patient is dying, and unnecessary and stressful interventions such as artificial nutrition or physical restraints are common (5, 6). Most of the pertinent studies in Germany have looked only at the symptom burden of persons dying of cancer in palliative care facilitie…