A Dutch source: https://www.knmg.nl/actualiteit-opi...effectieve-euthanasieprocedure-garanderen.htm
About using sodium thiopental and a muscle relaxant for euthanasia.
Google translate
'
December 20, 2018
Implementation euthanasia: how doctors and pharmacists guarantee a safe and effective euthanasia procedure
In response to news from EenVandaag on 20 December , the KNMG would like to explain the procedure that doctors and pharmacists in the Netherlands follow to guarantee patients a safe and effective euthanasia procedure.
As doctors and pharmacists, we find it very important that everyone knows how to act when a patient requests euthanasia or assisted suicide. This is primarily a major event for the patient and his family. But the action is also drastic for the doctor and pharmacist. They are not confronted daily with the execution of euthanasia or the provision of assistance with suicide. The guideline 'Implementation of euthanasia and assisted suicide' of the KNMG medical federation and the pharmacists' organization KNMP describes the professional standard for all doctors and pharmacists in the Netherlands. This is based on the scientific and professional insights from various medical professional groups. We keep this up to date via a guideline committee.
We attach importance to everyone acting according to the same professional standard, so that we can continue to guarantee that the same safe and effective method is used everywhere. Doctors, after all, do not stay in one place, they then work elsewhere in healthcare with other patients.
In addition, the guideline provides the regional review committees on euthanasia with a clear assessment framework. And that gives doctors legal certainty about the question of where their actions are tested afterwards.
Up to now, the KNMG has received no signals that the procedure in the guideline for doctors is too complicated or is susceptible to error. The guidelines committee will naturally study the case mentioned by EenVandaag during the revision.
How does it work?
In the Netherlands we have a procedure that consists of several steps, because this is the only way to be able to guarantee with certainty that the patient dies in accordance with his wishes. The whole guideline is aimed at letting someone slip away to death in a quiet way. People do not have to worry that their neighbor suffers pain. Sometimes a short pain sensation can occur when injecting the thiopental, which can not be entirely ruled out despite a narcotic drug (this is also stated in the guideline). The doctor takes the following steps:
1) First, the physician administers the patient a narcotic drug, lidocaine, to prevent possible pain when injecting the sedative as much as possible.
2) Then the doctor puts the patient in a deep coma. To this end, the patient receives a sleeping aid (coma inducer) via an infusion needle. This sleeping aid is thiopental or propofol. The patient consciously receives a large overdose, to ensure that the patient does not experience anything more.
3) The doctor then carefully checks whether the patient is really in a deep coma, so that he does not experience anything anymore. The doctor does this by speaking to the patient, checking the pulse and breathing and performing the so-called eyelash reflex.
4) The sleeping aid may be sufficient to allow death to occur, but that can not be guaranteed with certainty. That is why the doctor applies a muscle relaxant (muscle relaxation) after checking the coma. This causes the breathing to stop, so that the heart also stops beating and death enters. '
From what I gather , sodium thiopental puts the patient into a coma. Then, the muscle relaxant stops breating. (And possibly the heart directy?)
A few things are not so clear to me. With N, death is due to hypoxia. With sodium thiopental lethal hypoxia does not occur ? If anyone with a medical or other relevant background can comment ?
About using sodium thiopental and a muscle relaxant for euthanasia.
Google translate
'
December 20, 2018
Implementation euthanasia: how doctors and pharmacists guarantee a safe and effective euthanasia procedure
In response to news from EenVandaag on 20 December , the KNMG would like to explain the procedure that doctors and pharmacists in the Netherlands follow to guarantee patients a safe and effective euthanasia procedure.
As doctors and pharmacists, we find it very important that everyone knows how to act when a patient requests euthanasia or assisted suicide. This is primarily a major event for the patient and his family. But the action is also drastic for the doctor and pharmacist. They are not confronted daily with the execution of euthanasia or the provision of assistance with suicide. The guideline 'Implementation of euthanasia and assisted suicide' of the KNMG medical federation and the pharmacists' organization KNMP describes the professional standard for all doctors and pharmacists in the Netherlands. This is based on the scientific and professional insights from various medical professional groups. We keep this up to date via a guideline committee.
We attach importance to everyone acting according to the same professional standard, so that we can continue to guarantee that the same safe and effective method is used everywhere. Doctors, after all, do not stay in one place, they then work elsewhere in healthcare with other patients.
In addition, the guideline provides the regional review committees on euthanasia with a clear assessment framework. And that gives doctors legal certainty about the question of where their actions are tested afterwards.
Up to now, the KNMG has received no signals that the procedure in the guideline for doctors is too complicated or is susceptible to error. The guidelines committee will naturally study the case mentioned by EenVandaag during the revision.
How does it work?
In the Netherlands we have a procedure that consists of several steps, because this is the only way to be able to guarantee with certainty that the patient dies in accordance with his wishes. The whole guideline is aimed at letting someone slip away to death in a quiet way. People do not have to worry that their neighbor suffers pain. Sometimes a short pain sensation can occur when injecting the thiopental, which can not be entirely ruled out despite a narcotic drug (this is also stated in the guideline). The doctor takes the following steps:
1) First, the physician administers the patient a narcotic drug, lidocaine, to prevent possible pain when injecting the sedative as much as possible.
2) Then the doctor puts the patient in a deep coma. To this end, the patient receives a sleeping aid (coma inducer) via an infusion needle. This sleeping aid is thiopental or propofol. The patient consciously receives a large overdose, to ensure that the patient does not experience anything more.
3) The doctor then carefully checks whether the patient is really in a deep coma, so that he does not experience anything anymore. The doctor does this by speaking to the patient, checking the pulse and breathing and performing the so-called eyelash reflex.
4) The sleeping aid may be sufficient to allow death to occur, but that can not be guaranteed with certainty. That is why the doctor applies a muscle relaxant (muscle relaxation) after checking the coma. This causes the breathing to stop, so that the heart also stops beating and death enters. '
From what I gather , sodium thiopental puts the patient into a coma. Then, the muscle relaxant stops breating. (And possibly the heart directy?)
A few things are not so clear to me. With N, death is due to hypoxia. With sodium thiopental lethal hypoxia does not occur ? If anyone with a medical or other relevant background can comment ?
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