Entropy monitoring assisted titration of propofol, especially during the last part of the procedures, as indicated by higher entropy values, decreased consumption of propofol, and shorter recovery times in the entropy group.

Introduction: Patients with life-threatening diseases have reportedly end-of-life experiences that are perceived positively. Loved ones and healthcare personnel may mistakenly interpret the phenomena as confusion and patients can be reluctant to talk about it due to fear of ridicule. Studies addressing patients directly are scarce and there is a lack of studies from highly secular countries. The aim was to establish whether end-of-life experiences are present among patients, oriented in time, place and person and receiving palliative end-of-life care in one of the world's most secular countries. If present, examine the content and patients’ subjective experiences. Design: Qualitative design with semi-structured, in-depth interviews. 25 participants, receiving end-of-life palliative care at home or in a hospice inpatient unit. Results: Patients were interviewed on 1-3 consecutive occasions. 16/25 patients reported end-of-life experiences of which the majority were perceived to be positive. Four themes were identified: vivid dreams while asleep, experiences while awake, references to medical circumstances and communication about end-of-life experiences. Prevalent content was deceased and living loved ones and journeys. Some patients distinguished between hallucinations/nightmares and end-of-life experiences. Conclusions: End-of-life experiences are present among oriented patients in a highly secular country and can have a profound positive impact, which warrants clinical attention. Education for healthcare personnel about end-of-life experiences is needed in order to support patients and loved ones and not mistakenly medicalize. Further directions for research could be to study the experiences of the phenomenon among health care personnel in the same context, which could strengthen the present findings.

Objective End-of-life dreams and visions (ELDVs) have been suggested to be prevalent psychic phenomena near death that can provide meaning and comfort for the dying. There is a lack of studies from the secular Nordic countries. The aim of this study was to determine whether palliative care professionals in a Nordic country have experience of patients expressing dreams, visions, and/or inner experiences and, if so, how they are perceived. Method Focus-group interviews with 18 professionals in end-of-life palliative care were subjected to qualitative content analysis. Results Most (15/18) professionals had experience of patients with ELDVs. A dominant content was deceased loved ones. According to most professionals, many patients perceived their ELDVs as real and could report them with clarity. The experience could result in peacefulness for patients, as well as loved ones, and reduce fear of death. Some professionals themselves perceived ELDVs to be real and a normal part of dying while a few found them scary. Most professionals, however, found ELDVs hard to grasp. Many tried to explain the phenomena as the result of medical circumstances and confusion, although reporting that they considered most patients to be normal and of sound mind in connection with their reports on ELDVs. Most patients wanted to talk about their ELDVs, but some could be reluctant due to fear of being considered crazy. The professionals were open-minded and reported having no problem talking about it with the patients and tried to normalize the experience thereby calming the patient and loved ones. Significance of results The results strengthen the suggestion that ELDVs are common phenomena near death, worldwide. Although most professionals in palliative care recognized ELDVs as beneficial to patients, many found the phenomena hard to grasp and sometimes difficult to distinguish from confusion, indicating a continuous need for exploration and education.