TY - JOUR
T1 - Confronted With Death
T2 - Factors Affecting End of Life Decisions in the Intensive Care Unit
AU - ul Hassan, Syed Sabih
AU - Ali, Wajid
AU - Khan, Hamza
AU - Raja, Ahsan Raza
AU - Hassan, Murtuza
AU - Haque, Ghazal
AU - Ayub, Farwa
AU - Waqar, Muhammad Atif
AU - Latif, Asad
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2023.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - To determine how often care is limited at the end of life and the factors that are associated with this decision, we reviewed the medical records of all patients that passed away in the intensive care units (ICU) of Aga Khan University. We found that a majority of patients had Do-Not-Resuscitate orders in place at the time of death. Our analysis yielded 6 variables that were associated with the decision to limit care. These are patient age, sex, duration of mechanical ventilation, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) ≤8 at any point during ICU stay, GCS ≤8 in the first 24 hours following ICU admission, and mean arterial pressure <65 mm of Hg while on vasopressors in the first 24 hours following ICU admission. These variables require further study and should be carefully considered during end of life discussions to allow for optimal management at the end of life.
AB - To determine how often care is limited at the end of life and the factors that are associated with this decision, we reviewed the medical records of all patients that passed away in the intensive care units (ICU) of Aga Khan University. We found that a majority of patients had Do-Not-Resuscitate orders in place at the time of death. Our analysis yielded 6 variables that were associated with the decision to limit care. These are patient age, sex, duration of mechanical ventilation, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) ≤8 at any point during ICU stay, GCS ≤8 in the first 24 hours following ICU admission, and mean arterial pressure <65 mm of Hg while on vasopressors in the first 24 hours following ICU admission. These variables require further study and should be carefully considered during end of life discussions to allow for optimal management at the end of life.
KW - decision making
KW - end of life
KW - intensive care
KW - withdrawing treatment
KW - withholding treatment
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85169692089&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/00302228231198360
DO - 10.1177/00302228231198360
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85169692089
SN - 0030-2228
JO - Omega: Journal of Death and Dying
JF - Omega: Journal of Death and Dying
ER -