Controversies in hydrating the terminally ill patient.

It is a common practice in healthcare to provide comfort and relief from distressing symptoms with the use of intravenous fluids when the patient is no longer able to ingest an adequate amount of fluid. If hydration is not provided to a patient, the medical professional is thought to be negligent of the patient's needs, to consign the patient to a horrible death, and even to shorten the patient's life. On the contrary, dehydration in terminal illness has not been found to produce distressing symptoms or to shorten life span; it may even be beneficial.