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Sousa ITE, Cruz CT, Soares LCDC, van Leeuwen G, Garros D. End-of-life care in Brazilian Pediatric Intensive Care Units. J Pediatr (Rio J) 2023; 99:341-347. [PMID: 36963435 PMCID: PMC10373144 DOI: 10.1016/j.jped.2023.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2022] [Revised: 02/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/26/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Most deaths in Pediatric Intensive Care Units involve forgoing life-sustaining treatment. Such deaths required carefully planned end-of-life care built on compassion and focused on palliative care measures. This study aims to assess topics related to the end of life care in Brazilian pediatric intensive care units from the perspective of a multidisciplinary team. METHOD The authors used a tested questionnaire, utilizing Likert-style and open-ended questions. After ethics committee approval, it was sent by email from September to November/2019 to three Pediatric Intensive Care Units in the South and Southeast of Brazil. One unit was exclusively dedicated to oncology patients; the others were mixed units. RESULTS From 144 surveys collected (23% response rate) 136 were analyzed, with 35% physicians, 30% nurses, 21% nurse technicians, and 14% physiotherapists responding. Overall, only 12% reported enough end-of-life care training and 40% reported never having had any, albeit this was not associated with the physician's confidence in forgoing life-sustaining treatment. Furthermore, 60% of physicians and 46% of other professionals were more comfortable with non-escalation than withdrawing therapies, even if this could prolong suffering. All physicians were uncomfortable with palliative extubation; 15% of all professionals have witnessed it. The oncologic team uniquely felt that "resistance from the teams of specialists" was the main barrier to end-of-life care implementation. CONCLUSION Most professionals felt unprepared to forego life-sustaining treatment. Even for terminally ill patients, withholding is preferred over the withdrawal of treatment. Socio-cultural barriers and the lack of adequate training may be contributing to insecurity in the care of terminally ill patients, diverging from practices in other countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian Teixeira E Sousa
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Unidade de Terapia Intensiva Pediátrica do Hospital Criança Conceição, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
| | | | - Leonardo Cavadas da Costa Soares
- Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, PR, Brazil; Hospital Pequeno Príncipe, Unidade de Cuidados Intensivos Cardiovasculares Pediátrica, Curitiba, PR, Brazil
| | - Grace van Leeuwen
- Weill Cornell Medicine - Qatar, Critical Care Division, Pediatric Critical Care Unit - Sidra Medicine, Doha, Qatar
| | - Daniel Garros
- Stollery Children's Hospital Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Edmonton, AB, Canada; University of Alberta, Faculty of Medicine, Division of Critical Care, Dept of Pediatrics, Edmonton, Canada
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Nicoll J, Dryden-Palmer K, Frndova H, Gottesman R, Gray M, Hunt EA, Hutchison JS, Joffe AR, Lacroix J, Middaugh K, Nadkarni V, Szadkowski L, Tomlinson GA, Wensley D, Parshuram CS, Farrell C. Death and Dying in Hospitalized Pediatric Patients: A Prospective Multicenter, Multinational Study. J Palliat Med 2021; 25:227-233. [PMID: 34847737 DOI: 10.1089/jpm.2021.0205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: For hospitalized children admitted outside of a critical care unit, the location, mode of death, "do-not-resuscitate" order (DNR) use, and involvement of palliative care teams have not been described across high-income countries. Objective: To describe location of death, patient and terminal care plan characteristics of pediatric inpatient deaths inside and outside the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Design: Secondary analysis of inpatient deaths in the Evaluating Processes of Care and Outcomes of Children in Hospital (EPOCH) randomized controlled trial. Setting/Subjects: Twenty-one centers from Canada, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. Measurement: Descriptive statistics were used to compare patient and terminal care plan characteristics. A multivariable generalized estimating equation examined if palliative care consult during hospital admission was associated with location of death. Results: A total of 365 of 144,539 patients enrolled in EPOCH died; 219 (60%) died in PICU and 143 (40%) died on another inpatient unit. Compared with other inpatient wards, patients who died in PICU were less likely to be expected to die, have a DNR or palliative care consult. Hospital palliative care consultation was more common in older children and independently associated with a lower adjusted odds (95% confidence interval) of dying in PICU [0.59 (0.52-0.68)]. Conclusion: Most pediatric inpatient deaths occur in PICU where patients were less likely to have a DNR or palliative care consult. Palliative care consultation could be better integrated into end-of-life care for younger children and those dying in PICU.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Nicoll
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Janeway Children's Health and Rehabilitation Centre, Discipline of Pediatrics, Memorial University, St. John's Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.,Centre for Safety Research, SickKids Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Karen Dryden-Palmer
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Helena Frndova
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ronald Gottesman
- Department of Critical Care, Montreal Children's Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Martin Gray
- Pediatric Intensive Care, St. George's Hospital, Tooting, London, United Kingdom
| | - Elizabeth A Hunt
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - James S Hutchison
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ari R Joffe
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Stollery Children's Hospital, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Jacques Lacroix
- Division of Pediatric Intensive Care, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Ste-Justine, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Kristen Middaugh
- Centre for Safety Research, SickKids Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Vinay Nadkarni
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Leah Szadkowski
- Centre for Safety Research, SickKids Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - George A Tomlinson
- Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - David Wensley
- Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, British Columbia Children's Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Chris S Parshuram
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Centre for Safety Research, SickKids Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Catherine Farrell
- Division of Pediatric Intensive Care, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Ste-Justine, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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Abstract
OBJECTIVES Describe pediatric palliative care consult in children with heart disease; retrospectively apply Center to Advance Palliative Care criteria for pediatric palliative care consults; determine the impact of pediatric palliative care on end of life. DESIGN A retrospective single-center study. SETTING A 16-bed cardiac ICU in a university-affiliated tertiary care children's hospital. PATIENTS Children (0-21 yr old) with heart disease admitted to the cardiac ICU from January 2014 to June 2017. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Over 1,000 patients (n = 1, 389) were admitted to the cardiac ICU with 112 (8%) receiving a pediatric palliative care consultation. Patients who received a consult were different from those who did not. Patients who received pediatric palliative care were younger at first hospital admission (median 63 vs 239 d; p = 0.003), had a higher median number of complex chronic conditions at the end of first hospitalization (3 vs 1; p < 0.001), longer cumulative length of stay in the cardiac ICU (11 vs 2 d; p < 0.001) and hospital (60 vs 7 d; p < 0.001), and higher mortality rates (38% vs 3%; p < 0.001). When comparing location and modes of death, patients who received pediatric palliative care were more likely to die at home (24% vs 2%; p = 0.02) and had more comfort care at the end of life (36% vs 2%; p = 0.002) compared to those who did not. The Center to Advance Palliative Care guidelines identified 158 patients who were eligible for pediatric palliative care consultation; however, only 30 patients (19%) in our sample received a consult. CONCLUSIONS Pediatric palliative care consult rarely occurred in the cardiac ICU. Patients who received a consult were medically complex and experienced high mortality. Comfort care at the end of life and death at home was more common when pediatric palliative care was consulted. Missed referrals were apparent when Center to Advance Palliative Care criteria were retrospectively applied.
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