Surrogate decision makers for incompetent ICU patients: a European perspective:

Patients' experiences of preparing for transfer from the intensive care unit to a hospital ward: A multicentre qualitative study

BACKGROUND

The transfer from an intensive care unit (ICU) to a regular ward often causes confusion and stress for patients and family members. However, little is known about the patients' perspective on preparing for the transfer.

AIM

The purpose of the study was to describe patients' experiences of preparing for transfer from an ICU to a ward.

STUDY DESIGN

Individual interviews with 14 former ICU patients from three urban hospitals in Stockholm, Sweden were conducted 3 months after hospital discharge. Qualitative content analysis was used to interpret the interview transcripts. Reporting followed the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research checklist.

RESULTS

The results showed that the three categories, the discharge decision, patient involvement, and practical preparations were central to the patients' experiences of preparing for the transition from the intensive care unit to the ward. The discharge decision was associated with a sense of relief, but also worry about what would happen on the ward. The patients felt that they were not involved in the decision about the discharge or the planning of their health care. To handle the situation, patients needed information about planned care and treatment. However, the information was often sparse, delivered from a clinician's perspective, and therefore not much help in preparing for transfer.

CONCLUSIONS

ICU patients experienced that they were neither involved in the process of forthcoming care nor adequately prepared for the transfer to the ward. Relevant and comprehensible information and sufficient time to prepare were needed to reduce stress and promote efficient recovery.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

The study suggests that current transfer strategies are not optimal, and a more person-centred discharge procedure would be beneficial to support patients and family members in the transition from the ICU to the ward.

Associations Between Family Member Involvement and Outcomes of Patients Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit: Retrospective Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

Little is known about family member involvement, by relationship status, for patients treated in the intensive care unit (ICU).

OBJECTIVE

Using documentation of family interactions in clinical notes, we examined associations between child and spousal involvement and ICU patient outcomes, including goals of care conversations (GOCCs), limitations in life-sustaining therapy (LLST), and 3-month mortality.

METHODS

Using a retrospective cohort design, the study included a total of 858 adult patients treated between 2008 and 2012 in the medical ICU at a tertiary care center in northeastern United States. Clinical notes generated within the first 48 hours of admission to the ICU were used with standard machine learning methods to predict patient outcomes. We used natural language processing methods to identify family-related documentation and abstracted sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the patients from the medical record.

RESULTS

Most of the 858 patients were White (n=650, 75.8%); 437 (50.9%) were male, 479 (55.8%) were married, and the median age was 68.4 (IQR 56.5-79.4) years. Most patients had documented GOCC (n=651, 75.9%). In adjusted regression analyses, child involvement (odds ratio [OR] 0.81; 95% CI 0.49-1.34; P=.41) and child plus spouse involvement (OR 1.28; 95% CI 0.8-2.03; P=.3) were not associated with GOCCs compared to spouse involvement. Child involvement was not associated with LLST when compared to spouse involvement (OR 1.49; 95% CI 0.89-2.52; P=.13). However, child plus spouse involvement was associated with LLST (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.02-2.52; P=.04). Compared to spouse involvement, there were no significant differences in the 3-month mortality by family member type, including child plus spouse involvement (OR 1.38; 95% CI 0.91-2.09; P=.13) and child involvement (OR 1.47; 95% CI 0.9-2.41; P=.12).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings demonstrate that statistical models derived from text analysis in the first 48 hours of ICU admission can predict patient outcomes. Early child plus spouse involvement was associated with LLST, suggesting that decisions about LLST were more likely to occur when the child and spouse were both involved compared to the involvement of only the spouse. More research is needed to further understand the involvement of different family members in ICU care and its association with patient outcomes.

Ethical reflection support for potential organ donors' relatives: A narrative review

BACKGROUND

Even in countries with an opt-out or presumed consent system, relatives have a considerable influence on the post-mortem organ harvesting decision. However, their reflection capacity may be compromised by grief, and they are, therefore, often prone to choose refusal as default option. Quite often, it results in late remorse and dissatisfaction. So, a high-quality reflection support seems critical to enable them to gain a stable position and a long-term peace of mind, and also avoid undue loss of potential grafts. In practice, recent studies have shown that the ethical aspects of reflection are rarely and often poorly discussed with relatives and that no or incomplete guidance is offered. No review of the literature is available to date, although it could be of value to improve the quality of the daily practice.

OBJECTIVES

The objective was to review and synthesize the main concepts and approaches, theories and practices of ethical reflection support of the relatives or surrogates of potential post-mortem organ donors.

RESEARCH DESIGN

A narrative review was performed in the medical, psychological and ethical fields using PubMed, PsycArticles and Web of Science databases (1980-2020).

RESULTS

Out of 150 papers, 25 were finally retained. Four themes were drawn: the moral status of the potential post-mortem organ donor, the principlistic approach with its limits and critics, the narrative approach and the transcendental approach.

DISCUSSION

This review suggests an extension of psychological support towards ethical reflection support. The process of helping relatives in their ethical exploration of post-mortem organ donation is psychologically and morally characterized. The need for specialized professionals educated and experienced both in clinical psychology and in health ethics to carry out this task is discussed.

PRACTICAL IMPACT

This review could contribute to optimize the quality of the ethical reflection support by initiating an evolution from an empirical, partial and individual-dependent support to a more systematized, professionalized and exhaustive support.

Factors Affecting Neurosurgeons' Decisions to Forgo Life-Sustaining Treatments After Traumatic Brain Injury

BACKGROUND

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a multifaceted condition that causes mortality and disability worldwide. Limited data are available on the factors associated with the decision for the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment (WLST) for patients with TBI. In the present study, we aimed to determine the risk factors and attitudes affecting neurosurgeons when deciding on WLST for patients with TBI using a multicenter survey.

METHODS

An online questionnaire was applied worldwide and shared using social media platforms and electronic mail to ∼5000 neurosurgeons. The social media group "Neurosurgery Cocktail" was used to post a link to the questionnaire. In addition, randomly chosen neurosurgery clinics around the world were sent the survey via electronic mail.

RESULTS

Of the participants, 17.22% had decided on WLST after TBI for >26 patients. Neurosurgeons with more WLST decisions were older, had had more clinical experience and intensive care unit (ICU) training, and were better prepared to involve the family members of TBI patients in their decision-making compared with those with fewer WLST decisions. The respondents stated that the patient's family, ICU consultants, and themselves played the most influential role in the WLST decisions, with the hospital administration, social workers, spiritual caregivers, and nurses having lesser roles. The current and presenting Glasgow coma scale scores, pupillary response, advanced patient age, candidates for a vegetative state, and impaired neurological function were significant factors associated with the WLST decision.

CONCLUSIONS

To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to evaluate neurosurgeons concerning their opinions and behaviors regarding WLST decisions after TBI. Increased patient age, Glasgow coma scale score, pupillary response, the presence of comorbidities, candidacy for a vegetative state, and impaired neurological function were the main factors contributing to the decision for WLST. We also found that the family, ICU consultants, and the attending neurosurgeon had the most effective roles in the decisions regarding WLST.

Shared decision-making in the ICU from the perspective of physicians, nurses and patients: a qualitative interview study

OBJECTIVE

To identify views, experiences and needs for shared decision-making (SDM) in the intensive care unit (ICU) according to ICU physicians, ICU nurses and former ICU patients and their close family members.

DESIGN

Qualitative study.

SETTING

Two Dutch tertiary centres.

PARTICIPANTS

19 interviews were held with 29 participants: seven with ICU physicians from two tertiary centres, five with ICU nurses from one tertiary centre and nine with former ICU patients, of whom seven brought one or two of their close family members who had been involved in the ICU stay.

RESULTS

Three themes, encompassing a total of 16 categories, were identified pertaining to struggles of ICU physicians, needs of former ICU patients and their family members and the preferred role of ICU nurses. The main struggles ICU physicians encountered with SDM include uncertainty about long-term health outcomes, time constraints, feeling pressure because of having final responsibility and a fear of losing control. Former patients and family members mainly expressed aspects they missed, such as not feeling included in ICU treatment decisions and a lack of information about long-term outcomes and recovery. ICU nurses reported mainly opportunities to strengthen their role in incorporating non-medical information in the ICU decision-making process and as liaison between physicians and patients and family.

CONCLUSIONS

Interviewed stakeholders reported struggles, needs and an elucidation of their current and preferred role in the SDM process in the ICU. This study signals an essential need for more long-term outcome information, a more informal inclusion of patients and their family members in decision-making processes and a more substantial role for ICU nurses to integrate patients' values and needs in the decision-making process.

Advance care planning by proxy in German nursing homes: Descriptive analysis and policy implications

BACKGROUND

Legally recognized advance directives (ADs) have to be signed by the person to whom the decisions apply. In practice, however, there are also ADs written and signed by legal proxies (surrogates) on behalf of patients who lack decision-making capacity. Given their practical relevance and substantial ethical and legal implications, ADs by proxy (AD-Ps) have received surprisingly little scientific attention so far.

OBJECTIVES

To study the form, content, validity, and applicability of AD-Ps among German nursing home residents and develop policy implications.

METHODS

Secondary analysis of two independent cross-sectional studies in three German cities, comprising 21 nursing homes and 1528 residents. The identified AD-Ps were analyzed in parallel by three independent raters. Inter-rater agreement was measured using free-marginal multi-rater kappa statistics.

RESULTS

Altogether, 46 AD-Ps were identified and pooled for analysis. On average (range), AD-Ps were 1 (1-7) year(s) old, 0.5 (0.25-4) pages long, signed by 1 (0-5) person, with evidence of legal proxy involvement in 35%, and signed by a physician in 20% of cases. Almost all the AD-Ps reviewed aimed to limit life-sustaining treatment (LST), but had widely varying content and ethical justifications, including references to earlier statements (30%) or actual behavior (11%). The most frequent explicit directives were: do-not-hospitalize (67%), do-not-tube-feed (37%), do-not-attempt-resuscitation (20%), and the general exclusion of any LST (28%). Inter-rater agreement was mostly moderate (kappa ≥0.6) or strong (kappa ≥0.8).

CONCLUSIONS

Although AD-Ps are an empirical reality in German nursing homes, formal standards for such directives are lacking and their ethical justification based on substituted judgment or best interest standard often remains unclear. A qualified advance care planning process and corresponding documentation are required in order to safeguard the appropriate use of this important instrument and ensure adherence to ethico-legal standards.

Impact of advance directives on the variability between intensivists in the decisions to forgo life-sustaining treatment

BACKGROUND

There is wide variability between intensivists in the decisions to forgo life-sustaining treatment (DFLST). Advance directives (ADs) allow patients to communicate their end-of-life wishes to physicians. We assessed whether ADs reduced variability in DFLSTs between intensivists.

METHODS

We conducted a multicenter, prospective, simulation study. Eight patients expressed their wishes in ADs after being informed about DFLSTs by an intensivist-investigator. The participating intensivists answered ten questions about the DFLSTs of each patient in two scenarios, referring to patients' characteristics without ADs (round 1) and then with (round 2). DFLST score ranged from 0 (no-DFLST) to 10 (DFLST for all questions). The main outcome was variability in DFLSTs between intensivists, expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD).

RESULTS

A total of 19,680 decisions made by 123 intensivists from 27 ICUs were analyzed. The DFLST score was higher with ADs than without (6.02 95% CI [5.85; 6.19] vs 4.92 95% CI [4.75; 5.10], p < 0.001). High inter-intensivist variability did not change with ADs (RSD: 0.56 (round 1) vs 0.46 (round 2), p = 0.84). Inter-intensivist agreement on DFLSTs was weak with ADs (intra-class correlation coefficient: 0.28). No factor associated with DFLSTs was identified. A qualitative analysis of ADs showed focus on end-of-life wills, unwanted things and fear of pain.

CONCLUSIONS

ADs increased the DFLST rate but did not reduce variability between the intensivists. In the decision-making process using ADs, the intensivist's decision took priority. Further research is needed to improve the matching of the physicians' decision with the patient's wishes. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03013530. Registered 6 January 2017; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03013530 .

Promoting patients' rights at the end of life in a geriatric setting in France: The healthcare professionals' level of knowledge about surrogate decision-makers and advance directives

OBJECTIVE

To assess levels of knowledge about patients' rights, surrogate decision-makers, and advance directives among healthcare professionals at three hospitals in France.

METHODS

A multicenter, cross-sectional study in three geriatric hospitals in the Paris area (France) in 2015. The participants' level of knowledge was assessed via an 18-item self-questionnaire on surrogate decision-makers, advance directives, and end-of-life decision-making. The characteristics associated with a good level of knowledge were assessed using logistic regression.

RESULTS

Among the 301 healthcare professionals (median ± standard deviation age: 40.4 ± 10.2 years; women: 73.4 %), only 15.0 % (95 % confidence interval (CI): [19.7-29.5]) correctly answered at least 75 % of the questions on patients' rights. Respectively 24.6 % [19.7-29.5], 36.5 % [31.1-42.0] and 37.5 % [32.0-43.0] had sufficient knowledge regarding "surrogate decision-maker", "advance directives", and "decision-making at the end of life". In a multivariable analysis, the only factor significantly associated with a good level of knowledge about end-of-life policy was employment in a university hospital, with a non-significant trend for status as a physician.

CONCLUSIONS

Our survey of staff working in geriatric care units highlighted the poor overall level of knowledge about healthcare surrogates and advance directives; the results suggest that additional training in these concepts is required.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Continuing education of healthcare professionals on advance directives and surrogate decision-maker should be promoted to ensure rights of elderly patients at the end of life.

Advance directives in Austrian intensive care units: An analysis of prevalence and barriers

Purpose

To investigate the prevalence of advance directives, healthcare proxies, and legal representatives in Austrian intensive care units (ICUs), and to explore barriers faced by adults engaged in the contemplation and documentation phase of the advance care planning process.

Methods

Two studies were conducted: (1) A 4-week multicenter study covering seven Austrian ICUs. A retrospective chart review of 475 patients who presented to the ICUs between 1 January 2019 and 31 January 2019 was conducted. (2) An interview and focus group study with 12 semi-structured expert interviews and three focus groups with 21 adults was performed to gain insights into potential barriers faced by Austrian adults planning medical decisions in advance.

Results

Of the 475 ICU patients, 3 (0.6%) had an advance directive, 4 (0.8%) had a healthcare proxy, and 7 (1.5%) had a legal guardian. Despite the low prevalence rates, patients and relatives reacted positively to the question of whether they had an advance directive. Patients older than 55 years and patients with children reacted significantly more positively than younger patients and patients without children. The interviews and focus groups revealed important barriers that prevent adults in Austria from considering planning in advance for potentially critical health states.

Conclusion

The studies show low prevalence rates of healthcare documents in Austrian ICUs. However, when patients were asked about an advance directive, reactions indicated positive attitudes. The gap between positive attitudes and actual document completion can be explained by multiple barriers that exist for adults in Austria when it comes to planning for potential future incapacity.

Barriers in achieving patient participation in the critical care unit

OBJECTIVES

Patient participation in healthcare is important for optimizing treatment outcomes and for ensuring satisfaction with care. Therefore, this study aims to identify barriers to patient participation in the critical care unit, as identified by critical care nurses.

DESIGN AND SETTINGS

Qualitative data were collected in four focus group interviews with 17 nurses from two separate hospitals. The interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.

FINDINGS

The results show three main categories: nurse's attitude toward caring, the organization of the critical care unit and the patient's health condition.

CONCLUSION

Barriers for patient participation in the ICU were found and this lead to a power imbalance between patient and nurse. In contrast to other care settings, this imbalance could be a consequence of the critical care organization and its degree of highly specialized care. The clinical application of our results is that these barriers should be considered when implementing patient participation in such a highly technological care situation as a critical care unit.

Comparing doctors' legal compliance across three Australian states for decisions whether to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining medical treatment: does different law lead to different decisions?

Background

Law purports to regulate end-of-life care but its role in decision-making by doctors is not clear. This paper, which is part of a three-year study into the role of law in medical practice at the end of life, investigates whether law affects doctors’ decision-making. In particular, it considers whether the fact that the law differs across Australia’s three largest states – New South Wales (NSW), Victoria and Queensland – leads to doctors making different decisions about withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment from adults who lack capacity.

Methods

A cross-sectional postal survey of the seven specialties most likely to be involved in end-of-life care in the acute setting was conducted between 18 July 2012 and 31 January 2013. The sample comprised all medical specialists in emergency medicine, geriatric medicine, intensive care, medical oncology, palliative medicine, renal medicine and respiratory medicine on the AMPCo Direct database in those three Australian states. The survey measured medical specialists’ level of legal compliance, and reasons for their decisions, concerning the withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine predictors of legal compliance. Linear regression was used to examine associations between the decision about life-sustaining treatment and the relevance of factors involved in making these decisions, as well as state differences in these associations.

Results

Response rate was 32% (867/2702). A majority of respondents in each state said that they would provide treatment in a hypothetical scenario, despite an advance directive refusing it: 72% in NSW and Queensland; 63% in Victoria. After applying differences in state law, 72% of Queensland doctors answered in accordance with local law, compared with 37% in Victoria and 28% in NSW (p < 0.001). Doctors reported broadly the same decision-making approach despite differences in local law.

Conclusions

Law appears to play a limited role in medical decision-making at the end of life with doctors prioritising patient-related clinical and ethical considerations. Different legal frameworks in the three states examined did not lead to different decisions about providing treatment. More education is needed about law and its role in this area, particularly where law is inconsistent with traditional practice.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12904-017-0249-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Sense of responsibility in ICU end-of-life decision-making: Relatives' experiences

BACKGROUND:

Relatives of intensive care unit patients who lack or have reduced capacity to consent are entitled to information and participation in decision-making together with the patient. Practice varies with legislation in different countries. In Norway, crucial decisions such as withdrawing treatment are made by clinicians, usually morally justified to relatives with reference to the principle of non-maleficence. The relatives should, however, be consulted about whether they know what the patient would have wished in the situation.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES:

To examine and describe relatives' experiences of responsibility in the intensive care unit decision-making process.

RESEARCH DESIGN:

A secondary analysis of interviews with bereaved relatives of intensive care unit patients was performed, using a narrative analytical approach.

PARTICIPANTS AND RESEARCH CONTEXT:

In all, 27 relatives of 21 deceased intensive care unit patients were interviewed about their experiences from the end-of-life decision-making process. Most interviews took place in the participants' homes, 3-12 months after the patient's death.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Based on informed consent, the study was approved by the Data Protection Official of the Norwegian Social Science Data Services and by the Regional Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics.

FINDINGS:

The results show that intensive care unit relatives experienced a sense of responsibility in the decision-making process, independently of clinicians' intention of sparing them. Some found this troublesome. Three different variants of participation were revealed, ranging from paternalism to a more active role for relatives.

DISCUSSION:

For the study participants, the sense of responsibility reflects the fact that ethics and responsibility are grounded in the individual's relationship to other people. Relatives need to be included in a continuous dialogue over time to understand decisions and responsibility.

CONCLUSION:

Nurses and physicians should acknowledge and address relatives' sense of responsibility, include them in regular dialogue and help them separate their responsibility from that of the clinicians.

Tracheostomy procedures in the intensive care unit: an international survey

INTRODUCTION

Percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (PDT) is one of the most frequent procedures performed in the intensive care unit (ICU). PDT may add potential benefit to clinical management of critically ill patients. Despite this, no clinical guidelines are available. We sought to characterize current practice in this international survey.

METHODS

An international survey, endorsed and peer reviewed by European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM), was carried out from May to October 2013. The questionnaire was accessible from the ESICM website in the 'survey of the month' section.

RESULTS

429 physicians from 59 countries responded to this survey. Single step dilatational tracheostomy was the most used PDT in ICU. Almost 75% of PDT's were performed by intensive care physicians. The main indication for PDT was prolonged mechanical ventilation. Tracheostomies were most frequently performed between 7-15 days after ICU admission. Volume control mechanical ventilation, and a combination of sedation, analgesia, neuromuscular blocking agents and fiberoptic bronchoscopy were used. Surgical tracheostomy was mainly performed in ICU by ENT specialists, and was generally chosen when for patients at increased risk for difficult PDT insertion. Bleeding controlled by compression and stoma infection/inflammation were the most common intra-procedural and late complications, respectively. Informed consent for PDT was obtained in only 60% of cases.

CONCLUSIONS

This first international picture of current practices in regard to tracheostomy insertion demonstrates considerable geographic variation in practice, suggesting a need for greater standardization of approaches to tracheostomy insertion.

Comparison of Consensus on Life-sustaining Treatment of the Elderly in Care Facilities and Family Member Dyad

Objectives

The purpose of this study is to compare the agreement in opinion between the elderly in care facilities and their family members regarding the life-sustaining treatment at the deathbed and to find out if the intentions of the elderly are being properly reflected in their deathbed treatment.

Methods

Data were collected from 85 elderly individuals at five care facilities in Chunkcheongnam-do and 85 family members. The data were collected with a self-administered questionnaire from July 22, 2013 to August 15, 2014. A total of 170 cases were analyzed using SPSS version 21.

Results

First, the family members' preference for life-sustaining treatment was higher than the patients' preference. The preference between the elderly and their family members regarding life-sustaining treatment was statistically significant with regards to oral nutrition, pain control through oral and anal administration, pain control through intravenous administration, transfusion, and admission to an intensive care unit. Second, looking at the agreement between elderly and guardians regarding life-sustaining treatment, there was significant concordance about general testing, oral nutrition, intravenous hydration, intravenous nutrition, antibiotic treatment for severe infection with low resiliency, admission to an intensive care unit, blood pressure increase medication use, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and tracheotomy.

Conclusion

It is essential for the medical staff to confirm agreement between the elderly and their family members regarding life-sustaining treatment, and if such a prior agreement is not feasible, the patient's intention should be considered more actionable than their family members.

How Dutch neurologists involve families of critically ill patients in end-of-life care and decision-making

When critically ill neurologic patients are cognitively incapacitated, decisions about treatment options are delegated to surrogates, usually family members. We conducted qualitative interviews with 20 Dutch neurologists and residents in neurology varying in age, work experience, and workplace to investigate how they involve their patients' family members in decision-making. Their reports revealed that they ascribed 3 different, yet tightly interwoven roles to families: (1) informants about values and preferences of patients, (2) participants in care and care planning, and (3) sufferers themselves. Neurologists regarded decision-making as an integral part of end-of-life care rather than an isolated process, changing the meaning of what decision-making entails. All different roles of family members were important in end-of-life care and decision-making, instead of the single one of legal surrogate. Neurologists need to support family members in these various roles.

"I don't need my patients' opinion to withdraw treatment": patient preferences at the end-of-life and physician attitudes towards advance directives in England and France

This paper presents the results of a qualitative interview study exploring English and French physicians' moral perspectives and attitudes towards end-of-life decisions when patients lack capacity to make decisions for themselves. The paper aims to examine the importance physicians from different contexts accord to patient preferences and to explore the (potential) role of advance directives (ADs) in each context. The interviews focus on (1) problems that emerge when deciding to withdraw/-hold life-sustaining treatment from both conscious and unconscious patients; (2) decision-making procedures and the participation of proxies/relatives; (3) previous experience with ADs and views on their usefulness; and (4) perspectives on ways in which the decision-making processes in question might be improved. The analysis reveals differences in the way patient preferences are taken into consideration and shows how these differences influence the reasons physicians in each country invoke to justify their reluctance to adhering to ADs. Identifying cultural differences that complicate efforts to develop the practical implementation of ADs can help to inform national policies governing ADs and to better adapt them to practice.

Health management and patients who lack capacity: forms of guardianship in European health policy

The focus of healthcare debate has in recent years shifted from doctors and healthcare professionals in general to patients and the principle of patient self-determination. Patient competence therefore plays an increasingly central role in the legal framework of many Europeans countries. Consequently, healthcare policy has to address the possible repercussions of a non-systematic approach to cases of patient incapacity. The diverse nature of the experiences of the mentally or physically disadvantaged clearly raises problems for the healthcare professional. In this setting, we examine Italy's Law no. 6/2004 from a comparative perspective, in particular analysing legislation in the same area from Spain, France, Great Britain and the Netherlands.

[A review of bioethics in the Intensive Care Unit: The autonomy and role of relatives and legal representatives]

In recent decades we have witnessed a change in mentality in which patient autonomy has reached significant preponderance, with informed consent as the prime example. The approach in situations where the patient cannot make decisions varies from one country to another, affording greater or lesser importance to the wishes of the family when a surrogate has not been designated. Several studies show discrepancies between the decisions of patients and that the decisions which their surrogates have taken for them. We review concepts such as greatest benefit, evaluate the potential limitations of advance care directives, and consider different options when the action or treatment proposed by professionals comes into conflict with the ideas expressed by the patient's family or surrogates, and which has led to different legally sanctioned solutions in some regions.

ICU research: the impact of invasiveness on informed consent

PURPOSE

Studies into the preferences of patients and relatives regarding informed consent for intensive care unit (ICU) research are ongoing. We investigated the impact of a study's invasiveness on the choice of who should give consent and on the modalities of informed consent.

METHODS

At ICU discharge, randomized pairs of patients and relatives were asked to answer a questionnaire about informed consent for research. One group received a vignette of a noninvasive study; the other, of an invasive study. Each study comprised two scenarios, featuring either a conscious or unconscious patient. Multivariate models assessed independent factors related to their preferences.

RESULTS

A total of 185 patients (40 %) and 125 relatives (68 %) responded. The invasiveness of a study had no impact on which people were chosen to give consent. This increased the desire to get more than one person to give consent and decreased the acceptance of deferred or two-step consent. Up to 31 % of both patients and relatives chose people other than the patient himself to give consent, even when the patient was conscious. A range of 3 to 17 % of the respondents reported that they would accept a waiving of consent. Younger respondents and individuals feeling coerced into study participation wanted to be the decision makers.

CONCLUSIONS

Study invasiveness had no impact on patients' and relatives' preferences about who should give consent. Many patients and relatives were reluctant to give consent alone. Deferred and two-step consent were less acceptable for the invasive study. Further work should investigate whether sharing the burden of informed consent with a second person facilitates participation in ICU research.

Recommendations to limit life support: a national survey of critical care physicians

RATIONALE

There is debate about whether physicians should routinely provide patient surrogates with recommendations about limiting life support.

OBJECTIVES

To explore physicians' self-reported practices and attitudes.

METHODS

A cross-sectional, stratified survey of 1,000 randomly selected US critical care physicians was mailed. We included a vignette to experimentally examine how surrogate desire for a recommendation and physician agreement with the surrogate modified whether physicians would provide a recommendation.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Proportion of respondents reporting they routinely provide surrogates with a recommendation and how responses varied based on vignette characteristics. A total of 608 (66%) of 922 eligible physicians participated. Approximately one (22%) in five reported always providing surrogates with a recommendation, whereas 1 (11%) in 10 reported rarely or never doing so. Almost all respondents reported comfort making recommendations (92%) and viewed them as appropriate (93%). Most also viewed recommendations as a critical care physician's duty (87%) and did not view them as unduly influential (80%). Approximately two-fifths (41%) believed recommendations were only appropriate if sought by surrogates. In response to the vignettes, nearly all respondents (91%) provided a recommendation when the surrogate requested a recommendation and the physician agreed with the surrogate's likely decision. Physicians were less likely to provide an unwanted recommendation, both when physicians agreed (29%) and disagreed with the surrogate's likely decision (44%).

CONCLUSIONS

There is substantial variation among physicians' self-reported use of recommendations to surrogates of critically ill adults. Surrogates' desires for recommendations and physicians' agreement with surrogates' likely decisions may have important influence on whether recommendations are provided.

[The surrogate for inpatients]

The French legal framework of the surrogate has been defined by a law passed in 2002 concerning the patients' rights, in response to the absence of prior rights of the incompetent patient. The surrogate is designated only by a competent major patient. In the case of competent patient, the surrogate may support the patient throughout the course of care, including during the hospitalizations or consultations. In the case of incompetent patient, the surrogate must be involved in the decision-making process. A poor designation and a lack of the surrogate's involvement emerge from different French studies since 2002, especially in the end-of-life decisions, despite a specific law passed in 2005, which reinforced the surrogate's role in this context. The evolution of the patients' rights, in France as in most of the industrialized countries, should lead to specific actions to improve the surrogate's involvement, in the respect of the ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence and non-maleficence.

Family members' experiences of "wait and see" as a communication strategy in end-of-life decisions

PURPOSE

The aim of this study is to examine family members' experiences of end-of-life decision-making processes in Norwegian intensive care units (ICUs) to ascertain the degree to which they felt included in the decision-making process and whether they received necessary information. Were they asked about the patient's preferences, and how did they view their role as family members in the decision-making process?

METHODS

A constructivist interpretive approach to the grounded theory method of qualitative research was employed with interviews of 27 bereaved family members of former ICU patients 3-12 months after the patient's death.

RESULTS

The core finding is that relatives want a more active role in end-of-life decision-making in order to communicate the patient's wishes. However, many consider their role to be unclear, and few study participants experienced shared decision-making. The clinician's expression "wait and see" hides and delays the communication of honest and clear information. When physicians finally address their decision, there is no time for family participation. Our results also indicate that nurses should be more involved in family-physician communication.

CONCLUSIONS

Families are uncertain whether or how they can participate in the decision-making process. They need unambiguous communication and honest information to be able to take part in the decision-making process. We suggest that clinicians in Norwegian ICUs need more training in the knowledge and skills of effective communication with families of dying patients.

End-of-life communication in the intensive care unit

OBJECTIVE

Because one in five Americans die in the intensive care unit (ICU), the potential role of palliative care is considerable. End-of-life (EOL) communication is essential for the implementation of ICU palliative care. The objective of this review was to summarize current research and recommendations for ICU EOL communication.

DESIGN

For this qualitative, critical review, we searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, Ovid Medline, Cinahl and Psychinfo databases for ICU EOL communication clinical trials, systematic reviews, consensus statements and expert opinions. We also hand searched pertinent bibliographies and cross-referenced known EOL ICU communication researchers.

RESULTS

Family-centered communication is a key component of implementing EOL ICU palliative care. The main forum for this is the family meeting, which is an essential platform for implementing shared decision making, e.g., transitioning from curative to EOL palliative goals of care. Better communication can improve patient outcomes such as reducing psychological trauma symptoms, depression and anxiety; shortening ICU length of stay; and improving the quality of death and dying. Communication strategies for EOL discussions focus on addressing family emotions empathically and discussing death and dying in an open and meaningful way. Central to this is viewing ICU EOL palliative care and withdrawal of life-extending treatment as predictable and not an unexpected emergency.

CONCLUSIONS

Because the ICU is now a well-established site for death, ICU physicians should be trained with EOL communication skills so as to facilitate palliative care more hospitably in this challenging setting. Patient/family outcomes are important ways of measuring the quality of ICU palliative care and EOL communication.

CQ Sources/Bibliography

These CQ Sources were compiled by Bette Anton.