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The sound of death rattle I: are relatives distressed by hearing this sound?

The sound of death rattle I: are relatives distressed by hearing this sound?
The sound of death rattle I: are relatives distressed by hearing this sound?
Background: Death rattle is the noisy, rattling breathing that occurs in many dying patients. Health professionals intervene because the sound is said to distress attendant relatives. We found no formal study to confirm or refute relatives' distress, so we decided to ask the relatives.
Method: Face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 27 bereaved relatives to investigate their experience of terminal care and what their response had been to the sound of death rattle if this had occurred. Interview transcripts were subjected to thematic content analysis.
Results: We found that almost half of the 12 relatives who had heard the sound of death rattle had been distressed by it. The others were either neutral about the sound or found it a helpful signal of impending death.
Conclusion: We confirmed that some relatives do find it distressing to hear the sound of death rattle. However, our expectation that relatives are universally disturbed by this sound was unfounded. There is no justification for a 'blanket' approach to therapeutic intervention when death rattle occurs. A better understanding is required of how relatives make sense of the sound of death rattle.
bereaved relatives, death rattle, ethical dilemma, terminal care
0269-2163
171-175
Wee, Bee L.
2c6395df-0366-4d7d-902d-b84ab4ec9acb
Coleman, P.G.
1c55586e-c367-470c-b14b-832edb75c0ce
Hillier, R.
3f95f6e3-c523-47fd-b3d8-bfb7b1fc8125
Holgate, S.H.
79244671-aa39-49db-99ac-dec2902417fc
Wee, Bee L.
2c6395df-0366-4d7d-902d-b84ab4ec9acb
Coleman, P.G.
1c55586e-c367-470c-b14b-832edb75c0ce
Hillier, R.
3f95f6e3-c523-47fd-b3d8-bfb7b1fc8125
Holgate, S.H.
79244671-aa39-49db-99ac-dec2902417fc

Wee, Bee L., Coleman, P.G., Hillier, R. and Holgate, S.H. (2006) The sound of death rattle I: are relatives distressed by hearing this sound? Palliative Medicine, 20 (3), 171-175. (doi:10.1191/0269216306pm1137oa).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Background: Death rattle is the noisy, rattling breathing that occurs in many dying patients. Health professionals intervene because the sound is said to distress attendant relatives. We found no formal study to confirm or refute relatives' distress, so we decided to ask the relatives.
Method: Face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 27 bereaved relatives to investigate their experience of terminal care and what their response had been to the sound of death rattle if this had occurred. Interview transcripts were subjected to thematic content analysis.
Results: We found that almost half of the 12 relatives who had heard the sound of death rattle had been distressed by it. The others were either neutral about the sound or found it a helpful signal of impending death.
Conclusion: We confirmed that some relatives do find it distressing to hear the sound of death rattle. However, our expectation that relatives are universally disturbed by this sound was unfounded. There is no justification for a 'blanket' approach to therapeutic intervention when death rattle occurs. A better understanding is required of how relatives make sense of the sound of death rattle.

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Published date: 2006
Keywords: bereaved relatives, death rattle, ethical dilemma, terminal care

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 40380
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/40380
ISSN: 0269-2163
PURE UUID: 3cc371f9-ebc3-4429-8d6c-7e028b59e704

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Date deposited: 03 Jul 2006
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 08:19

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Contributors

Author: Bee L. Wee
Author: P.G. Coleman
Author: R. Hillier
Author: S.H. Holgate

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