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Withholding or withdrawing therapy in Danish regional ICUs: frequency, patient characteristics and decision process
Author(s) -
JENSEN H. I.,
AMMENTORP J.,
ØRDING H.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
acta anaesthesiologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1399-6576
pISSN - 0001-5172
DOI - 10.1111/j.1399-6576.2010.02375.x
Subject(s) - medicine , danish , intensive care , intensive care medicine , philosophy , linguistics
Background: New options for intensive therapy have increased the necessity of considering withholding or withdrawing therapy at intensive care units (ICUs), but the practice varies according to regional and cultural differences. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of withholding or withdrawing therapy in two secondary Danish ICUs, to describe the characteristics of patients in whom such decisions were made and to examine the existing documentation of the decision process. Methods: A retrospective review of hospital records for all patients admitted to two regional Danish ICUs in 2008. The records were searched for all information regarding deliberations or decisions on withholding or withdrawing therapy. Results: Of 1665 patients admitted to the ICUs, 176 patients (10.6%) died; of these, 34 (19.3%) died while still receiving full active therapy, 25 (14.2%) died after therapy was withheld and 117 (66.5%) died after therapy was withdrawn. An additional 88 patients (5.3%) were discharged alive with therapy either withheld or withdrawn. The patients who died had higher severity scores, were older and were more likely to be men than those who were discharged with full therapy. The main reasons for withholding or withdrawing therapy were prognosis for acute illness and the deemed futility of therapy. The median time from admission to a decision on withholding or withdrawing therapy was 1.4 days. Conclusion: Withholding or withdrawing therapy is common in Danish ICUs but more research is needed to explore the different aspects of withholding or withdrawing therapy in Danish ICUs.