Quality of death: assessing the importance placed on end-of-life treatment in the intensive-care unit.

Context: The value of good end-of-life (EOL) care could be underestimated if its effects are assessed using the standard metric of quality-adjusted survival, especially if the time horizon is limited to the duration of the EOL care. This issue is particularly problematic in the intensive-care unit (...

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Publicado en:Medical Care Vol. 42; no. 5; pp. 423 - 432
Autores principales: Bryce CL, Loewenstein G, Arnold RM, Schooler J, Wax RS, Angus DC, Bryce, Cindy L, Loewenstein, George, Arnold, Robert M, Schooler, Jonathan, Wax, Randy S, Angus, Derek C
Formato: research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins May2004
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      pub: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
      place: Baltimore, Maryland
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        atl: Quality of death: assessing the importance placed on end-of-life treatment in the intensive-care unit.
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        au:
          Bryce CL
          Loewenstein G
          Arnold RM
          Schooler J
          Wax RS
          Angus DC
          Bryce, Cindy L
          Loewenstein, George
          Arnold, Robert M
          Schooler, Jonathan
          Wax, Randy S
          Angus, Derek C
        affil: Department of Medicine, Modeling of Acute Illness (CRISMA) Laboratory, Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
      sug:
        subj:
          Critical Care Evaluation
          Quality of Health Care
          Terminal Care Evaluation
          Adult
          Age Factors
          Convenience Sample
          Data Analysis Software
          Data Analysis, Statistical
          Descriptive Statistics
          Female
          Funding Source
          Interviews
          Kruskal-Wallis Test
          Life Expectancy
          Male
          Multivariate Analysis
          P-Value
          Pennsylvania
          Regression
          Research Instruments
          Scales
          Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient
          Survey Research
          Human
          Adult: 19-44 years
          Female
          Male
      ab: Context: The value of good end-of-life (EOL) care could be underestimated if its effects are assessed using the standard metric of quality-adjusted survival, especially if the time horizon is limited to the duration of the EOL care. This issue is particularly problematic in the intensive-care unit (ICU) where death is frequent, care is difficult, and costs are high.Objectives: The objectives of this study were to test whether people would trade healthy life expectancy for better EOL care, to understand how much life expectancy they would trade relative to domains of good care, and to determine the association of respondent characteristics to time traded.Design and Subjects: We used a computerized survey instrument describing hypothetical patient experiences in the ICU used to assess attitudes of a general population sample (n = 104) recruited in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Measures: We used life expectancy traded (from a baseline of 80 healthy years followed by a 1-month fatal ICU stay) for improving ICU care in 4 domains: pain and discomfort, daily surroundings, treatment decisions, and family support.Results: Three fourths of respondents (n = 78) were prepared to shorten healthy life for better EOL care. Median time traded in individual domains ranged from 7.2 to 7.7 months overall and 9.6 to 11.4 months when restricted to those willing to trade. Median time traded for improvement in all domains was 8.3 months overall and 24.0 months by those willing to trade. In multivariable analyses, respondents who were older, nonwhite, or had children traded significantly less time, whereas those who did not perceive the ICU to be a caring environment traded more time.Conclusions: Good EOL care is highly valued, both in terms of medical and nonmedical domains, as suggested by previous work and confirmed by our data showing respondents trading quantities of healthy life several times longer than the duration of the EOL period itself. The considerable interperson variation highlights the importance of soliciting individual preferences about EOL care.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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