Forgoing life support: How the decision is made in European pediatric intensive care units
Purpose: To determine how decisions to forgo life support are made in European pediatric intensive care units (PICUs). Methods: A multicenter, prospective study, the Eurydice II study, among 45 PICUs: 20 in France, 21 in Northern/Western (N/W) European countries and 4 in Eastern/Central (E/C) Europe...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
2011
|
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/33515 |
| _version_ | 1848753967890169856 |
|---|---|
| author | Devictor, D. Latour, Jos |
| author_facet | Devictor, D. Latour, Jos |
| author_sort | Devictor, D. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Purpose: To determine how decisions to forgo life support are made in European pediatric intensive care units (PICUs). Methods: A multicenter, prospective study, the Eurydice II study, among 45 PICUs: 20 in France, 21 in Northern/Western (N/W) European countries and 4 in Eastern/Central (E/C) Europe. Data were collected between November 2009 and April 2010 through a questionnaire. Results: The decision to forgo life-sustaining treatment was made in 166 (40.6%) out of 409 deceased children (median 42.9%, France 38.2%, N/W European countries 60.0%, E/C European countries 0%; P < 0.001). In the E/C group, more patients died after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) failure than after forgoing life support (P < 0.001). In all PICUs, caregivers discussed the decision during a formal meeting, after which the medical staff made the final decision. The decision was often documented in the medical record (median 100%). The majority of the parents were informed of the final decision and were at the bedside during their child's death (median 100%). Decision to forgo life-sustaining treatment occurred in 40.6% of children, compared with 33% in Eurydice I. A high percentage of parents from France were now informed about the meeting and its conclusion as compared with Eurydice I (median 100%). Conclusions: The results of this study and comparison with the Eurydice I study (2002) show a trend towards standardization of end-of-life practices across N/W European countries and France in the past decade. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:32:56Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-33515 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:32:56Z |
| publishDate | 2011 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-335152017-09-13T15:30:51Z Forgoing life support: How the decision is made in European pediatric intensive care units Devictor, D. Latour, Jos Purpose: To determine how decisions to forgo life support are made in European pediatric intensive care units (PICUs). Methods: A multicenter, prospective study, the Eurydice II study, among 45 PICUs: 20 in France, 21 in Northern/Western (N/W) European countries and 4 in Eastern/Central (E/C) Europe. Data were collected between November 2009 and April 2010 through a questionnaire. Results: The decision to forgo life-sustaining treatment was made in 166 (40.6%) out of 409 deceased children (median 42.9%, France 38.2%, N/W European countries 60.0%, E/C European countries 0%; P < 0.001). In the E/C group, more patients died after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) failure than after forgoing life support (P < 0.001). In all PICUs, caregivers discussed the decision during a formal meeting, after which the medical staff made the final decision. The decision was often documented in the medical record (median 100%). The majority of the parents were informed of the final decision and were at the bedside during their child's death (median 100%). Decision to forgo life-sustaining treatment occurred in 40.6% of children, compared with 33% in Eurydice I. A high percentage of parents from France were now informed about the meeting and its conclusion as compared with Eurydice I (median 100%). Conclusions: The results of this study and comparison with the Eurydice I study (2002) show a trend towards standardization of end-of-life practices across N/W European countries and France in the past decade. 2011 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/33515 10.1007/s00134-011-2357-3 restricted |
| spellingShingle | Devictor, D. Latour, Jos Forgoing life support: How the decision is made in European pediatric intensive care units |
| title | Forgoing life support: How the decision is made in European pediatric intensive care units |
| title_full | Forgoing life support: How the decision is made in European pediatric intensive care units |
| title_fullStr | Forgoing life support: How the decision is made in European pediatric intensive care units |
| title_full_unstemmed | Forgoing life support: How the decision is made in European pediatric intensive care units |
| title_short | Forgoing life support: How the decision is made in European pediatric intensive care units |
| title_sort | forgoing life support: how the decision is made in european pediatric intensive care units |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/33515 |