ICU sedation, delirium & recovery
Palliative and end-of-life care on the battlefield: a scoping review
Authors' conclusion
Pain management in combat is a well-researched field, but one that is rarely examined in the specific context of end-of-life care. Similarly, there is a notable gap in the literature regarding palliative care in a combat context.
Study context
- Population
- Studies since 1900 on frontline palliative and end-of-life care for combatants35 articles
- Outcome
- Knowledge gaps in palliative and supportive care in combat situations
Methodological detailspre-registered protocol, triangulation at each screening stage, Searched PubMed, CAIRN, Scopus and Embase; last search 31 December 2025
- Pre-registered protocol
- Triangulation at each screening stage
- Searched PubMed, CAIRN, Scopus and Embase; last search 31 December 2025
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
- Pain management was the most extensively documented topic
- Morphine increasingly supplemented by oral transmucosal fentanyl citrate and ketamine; ketamine favored in austere settings
- RA recognized as an analgesic force multiplier, never described in an explicitly palliative context
- Limited but consistent literature on opioid titration and palliative sedation (continuous midazolam infusion) for expectant and dying casualties
- Spiritual care and family communication important but under-formalized
- Evidence specific to palliative and end-of-life battlefield care remains sparse, largely extrapolated from curative-care literature
- 3,629 unique records screened
Original publication
Palliative and end-of-life care on the battlefield: a scoping review. Crit Care. Published 26 September 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →