SUMMARY
Dexmedetomidine is a medication that has been used for ten years as an adjunct to anaesthesia or as a sedative for procedural sedation. It is a very potent a2-adrenergic agonist. Clinical trials have shown its effectiveness in treating delirium in the intensive care unit exhibiting an effect comparable to antipsychotics and benzodiazepines. It has been shown to be an excellent alternative to other sedative and analgetic drugs such as midazolam and remifentanil. In the article, we aimed at presenting a case report of a patient with delirium that has successfully been treated using dexmedetomidine in a palliative care unit. The use of dexmedetomidine in a palliative care has not been extensively studied and there is lack of scientific reports in the literature. It has been used in palliative patients with delirium, after other methods had failed. Given its favourable pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic effects, dexmedetomidine could be used more frequently, and applied by new, alternative routes of administration - e. g. intranasal and subcutaneous application; accordingly, additional studies in this field are warranted.