Communication about prognosis and end-of-life in pediatric organ failure and transplantation

Palliative Care for Pediatric Urology

Palliative care in the field of urology has largely been limited to adult oncologic conditions. Although there is a plethora of established literature suggesting the advantageous impact of palliative care, there is limited integration of palliative care in adult urology. This underutilization is further exacerbated in pediatric urology, and palliative care in pediatric urology remains an underexplored area despite the prevalence of several life-limiting conditions in this patient population. This paper highlights the potential need for palliative care intervention in a variety of urologic conditions in the pediatric population, including congenital lower urinary tract obstruction, neurogenic bladder dysfunction, exstrophy-epispadias complex, and congenital bilateral renal agenesis. Each condition poses unique challenges that can be addressed with the inclusion of a palliative care team, including decision-making spanning prenatal-neonatal-pediatric periods, acute and chronic symptom management, family relations, body image issues, risk of recurrent hospitalizations and surgeries, and potentially fatal complications. Alongside standard urologic interventions, palliative care can serve as an additional means of addressing physical and psychosocial symptoms experienced by pediatric urology patients to enhance the quality of life of patients and their families.

[Formula: see text] The multifaceted role of neuropsychology in pediatric solid organ transplant: preliminary guidelines and strategies for clinical practice

The incidence of pediatric solid organ transplantation (SOT) has increased in recent decades due to medical and surgical advances as well as improvements in organ procurement. Survival rates for pediatric kidney, liver, and heart transplantation are above 85% but patients continue to experience complex healthcare needs over their lifetime. Long-term developmental and neuropsychological sequelae are becoming increasingly recognized in this population, although preliminary work is limited and deserves further attention. Neuropsychological weaknesses are often present prior to transplantation and may be related to underlying congenital conditions as well as downstream impact of the indicating organ dysfunction on the central nervous system. Neuropsychological difficulties pose risk for functional complications, including disruption to adaptive skill development, social-emotional functioning, quality of life, and transition to adulthood. The impact of cognitive dysfunction on health management activities (e.g., medication adherence, medical decision-making) is also an important consideration given these patients' lifelong medical needs. The primary aim of this paper is to provide preliminary guidelines and clinical strategies for assessment of neuropsychological outcomes across SOT populations for pediatric neuropsychologists and the multidisciplinary medical team, including detailing unique and shared etiologies and risk factors for impairment across organ types, and functional implications. Recommendations for clinical neuropsychological monitoring as well as multidisciplinary collaboration within pediatric SOT teams are also provided.

Characteristics of Prognostic Statements During Family Conferences of Critically Ill Children

OBJECTIVES

Discussion of prognosis is an essential component of decision-making family conferences in critical care. We do not know how clinicians convey prognosis to families of critically ill children. We, therefore, aimed to evaluate the frequency of prognostic statements and the message and meaning conveyed through each statement during PICU family conferences.

DESIGN

Retrospective, mixed-methods study.

SETTING

PICU of a single quaternary medical center.

PATIENTS

Critically ill children and their families participating in PICU family conferences of critical medical decision-making.

INTERVENTIONS

None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

We analyzed 72 transcripts from audio-recorded PICU family conferences to identify prognostic statements. Descriptive, thematic content analysis was used to elucidate the message and meaning of each prognostic statement. Prognosis was not discussed in 26% (19/72) of family conferences. Of the other (53/72) conferences where prognostic statements were made, 60% (67/112) of statements conveyed a message (i.e., prognostic medical information) and a meaning (i.e., anticipated impact on patient/family). "Messages" of prognostic statements fell within eight themes: uncertain recovery, delayed recovery, progressive decline, escalation of support, attributable complications, no progress, irreversible, and probability of death. "Meanings" of prognostic statements fell within six themes: restoration of health, activities of daily living, additional equipment, prolonged care needs, brain dysfunction, and death. Broadly, clinicians discussed prognostic information in three categories: loss of Time (i.e., prolonged care needs), Function (i.e., additional medical equipment), or Cure (i.e., death).

CONCLUSIONS

Nearly in half of discussions (32/72, 44%) where families were asked to make critical medical decisions, clinicians did not provide a prognostic statement including a message and meaning. When discussed, prognostic information was conveyed in three categories: loss of time, function, or cure. Providing families context in this framework, particularly in times of uncertainty, may improve the family's ability to make informed, value-driven medical decisions for their child.

Bereaved Caregiver Perspectives on the End of Life in Pediatric Patients With Ventricular Assist Devices

OBJECTIVES

Ventricular assist devices (VADs) are increasingly used in pediatric heart failure as bridges to heart transplantation, although 25% will die with VADs. Family experiences in this population are not well-described. The objective is to understand bereaved families' perspectives on VAD and end-of-life decision-making.

DESIGN

Semistructured interviews with bereaved caregivers of pediatric VAD patients.

SETTING

Tertiary children's hospital.

PATIENTS

Families of six pediatric VAD patients who died from 2014 to 2020.

INTERVENTIONS

Not available.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Applying a grounded theory framework, interviews were coded by two independent readers using qualitative software. Themes were discussed in iterative multidisciplinary meetings. Participants were interviewed at a median 2.4 years after their child died. Three major themes emerged: 1) "lack of regret" for VAD implantation despite the outcome; 2) "caregiver-child accord" (via patient's verbal assent or physical cues) at implantation and end-of-life was important in family decision-making; and 3) development of a "local surrogate family" (medical team and peer families) provided powerful support.

CONCLUSIONS

Bereaved families' perspectives provide insight into quality decision-making for major interventions and end-of-life care in pediatric patients with chronic illness who face decisions regarding technology dependence.

Circumstances surrounding end-of-life in pediatric patients pre- and post-heart transplant: a report from the Pediatric Heart Transplant Society

BACKGROUND

Although mortality has decreased considerably in pediatric heart transplantation, waitlist and post-transplant death rates remain notable. End-of-life focused research in this population, however, is very limited. This Pediatric Heart Transplant Society study aimed to describe the circumstances surrounding death of pediatric heart transplant patients.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis of the multi-institutional, international, Pediatric Heart Transplant Society registry was conducted. Descriptive statistics and univariate analyses were performed to 1) describe end-of-life in pediatric pre- and post-heart transplant patients and 2) examine associations between location of death and technological interventions at end-of-life with demographic and disease factors.

RESULTS

Of 9217 patients (0-18 years) enrolled in the registry between 1993 and 2018, 2804 (30%) deaths occurred; 1310 while awaiting heart transplant and 1494 post-heart transplant. The majority of waitlist deaths (89%) occurred in the hospital, primarily in ICU (74%) with most receiving mechanical ventilation (77%). Fewer post-transplant deaths occurred in the hospital (22%). Out-of-hospital death was associated with older patient age (p < .01).

CONCLUSIONS

ICU deaths with high use of technological interventions at end-of-life were common, particularly in patients awaiting heart transplant. In this high mortality population, findings raise challenging considerations for clinicians, families, and policy makers on how to balance quality of life amidst high risk for hospital-based death.

State of the science and future research directions in palliative and end-of-life care in paediatric cardiology: a report from the Harvard Radcliffe Accelerator Workshop

Workshop proceedings, priorities, and recommendations from the "State of the Science and Future Directions in Palliative and End-of-Life Care in Pediatric Cardiology," a Harvard Radcliffe Accelerator Workshop, are detailed. Eight priorities for research were identified, including patient and family decision making, communication, patient and family experience, patient symptom measurement and management, training and curriculum development, teamwork, family hardships and bereavement, and ethical considerations. Barriers to research in this area were also identified: lack of outcome/measurement tools, lack of research funding, small population sizes, lack of effort/protected time for research, undervalued research topic by field and colleagues, and heterogeneous research participant diversity. Priorities and barriers were mostly consistent with those reported by the field of paediatric palliative care at large. These collective, consensus-based findings from diverse, multidisciplinary leaders in the field, as well as parent representatives, provide a catalyst for scientific advancement specific to paediatric and end-of-life care in paediatric cardiology.

Mapping the Landscape of Advance Care Planning in Adolescents and Young Adults Receiving Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: A 5-Year Retrospective Review

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) carries significant risks of morbidity and mortality. Participation in advance care planning (ACP) is crucial to promote patient-centered care and has been shown to have positive impacts on patients, caregivers, and providers. Historically, both HSCT recipients and adolescents and young adults (AYAs) are significantly less likely to engage in ACP. We sought to characterize ACP utilization in AYAs undergoing HSCT by evaluating the frequency of different types of ACP documentation over time and identifying demographic and clinical factors associated with documentation of each type of ACP. We conducted a single-center retrospective review of the electronic health record (EHR) of AYAs (age 15 to 39 years) who underwent allogeneic HSCT between 2015 and 2020. EHR documents were screened for 3 predefined categories of ACP: (1) advance directives (ADs) or medical orders (MOs), which included proof of signed paper directives, expressions of preferred code status, and identification of a healthcare proxy; (2) goals of care (GOC) conversations, which included discussions of medical care in a specific situation informed by patients' priorities; and (3) other ACP conversations, which included more general discussions of patients' values regarding their care or legacy wishes. Documents were coded by 2 researchers, and discrepant categorizations were reviewed by a third researcher. Patients age <18 years on the day of transplantation were excluded in the analyses of AD/MO documentation. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to test for associations between patient factors and documentation of each type of ACP. For deceased patients, Kaplan-Meier curves were created to illustrate the time-to-event relationship between days before death and documentation of each type of ACP. Sixty-eight thousand documents associated with 219 patients were reviewed, and 666 ACP documents associated with 190 patients were identified. Few of the 219 patients had documented GOC (n = 29; 13%) or other ACP conversations (n = 81; 37%). A subset of patients (n = 28; 13%) had no documented ACP. Most of the 201 patients age ≥18 years had a documented AD/MO (n = 172; 86%). No tested factors were significantly associated with documentation of ADs/MOs. GOC and other ACP conversations were more likely to occur in patients with a palliative care consult, and patients with a malignant diagnosis were also more likely to engage in GOC conversations. More than 50% of the documentation occurred in the subset of 39 deceased patients, with one-half of AD/MO documentation in the last 67 days of life, one-half of other ACP documentation in the last 20 days of life, and one-half of GOC documentation in the final 2 days of life. Although the majority of AYA patients receiving HSCT did have documentation of ADs/MOs, few patients had documented GOC or other ACP conversations. The bulk of all ACP conversations occurred in patients that ultimately died and who were very close to the end of life. Our results support ongoing efforts to improve the implementation of ACP in this vulnerable population, particularly for those undergoing HSCT for nonmalignant conditions.

Medical and end-of-life decision making in adolescents' pre-heart transplant: A descriptive pilot study

BACKGROUND

Adolescents and young adults undergoing heart transplantation experience risks of morbidity and mortality both pre- and post-transplant. To improve end-of-life care for this population, it is necessary to understand their medical and end-of-life decision-making preferences.

AIM

(1) To examine adolescent/young adult decision-making involvement specific to heart transplant listing, and (2) to characterize their preferences specific to medical and end-of-life decision making.

DESIGN

This cross-sectional research study utilized survey methods. Data were collected from October 2016 to March 2018.

SETTING/PARTICIPANTS

Twelve adolescent and young adult patients listed for heart transplant (ages = 12-19 years) and one parent for each were enrolled at a single-center, US children's hospital.

RESULTS

Consistent with their preferences, the majority of adolescent/young adult participants (82%) perceived a high level of involvement in the decision to be listed for transplant. Patient involvement in this decision was primarily by way of seeking advice or information from their parents and being asked to express their opinion from parents. Despite a preference among patients to discuss their prognosis and be involved in end-of-life decision making if seriously ill, only 42% of patients had discussed their end-of-life wishes with anyone. Few parents recounted having such discussions. Preferences regarding the timing and nature of end-of-life decision-making discussions varied.

CONCLUSIONS

Although young people are involved in the decision to pursue heart transplantation, little attention is paid to involving them in discussions regarding end-of-life decision making in a manner that is consistent with individual preferences.