A retrospective review of a large cohort of patients undergoing the process of withholding or withdrawal of life support

Abstract

Similar to other studies, WD/WHLS was the most common cause of death in academic ICUs and poor patient prognosis was considered the most important factor in deciding on WDLS. However, in contrast to other studies, future quality of life was not as frequently cited a reason for WDLS and larger amounts of morphine were used during WDLS. These discrepancies suggest areas for potential future research.

Changes in Medical Students’ Attitudes Towards End-of-Life Decisions Across Different Years of Medical Training

“…The views of year 5 medical students were in line with those of practicing clinicians documented in previous studies. 19,[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] These changes with the years of medical education suggest that the differences between medical and non-medical students are due to the medical school experience and not selection of people with intrinsically different views. The absence of an age-related effect in non-medical students suggests that these changes are not an age-related phenomenon but are related to the medical school experience.…”

Brief review: Practice variation in end of life care in the ICU: implications for patients with severe brain injury

“…In one large Canadian retrospective study, 8.4% of deaths were due to brain death. 2 The true incidence of brain injury and of brain death across Canada is unknown, since research is limited and there is no mandatory reporting mechanism. Cerebrovascular accidents and traumatic brain injury are the most common conditions that ultimately lead to brain death in adults 3 and children.…”

Avaliação dos óbitos ocorridos no Hospital Universitário da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (HU/UFSC)

“…Esse fato tem levado a necessidade de os médicos intensivistas restringirem a terapêutica dos seus enfermos vítimas de doença terminal. Atualmente, a maioria dos óbitos ocorridos em UTIs é precedida pela RST [15][16][17][18][19][20] . Inúmeros trabalhos [17][18][19][20] o melhor reconhecimento de que uma terapêutica possa ser fútil são os principais fatores envolvidos nessa diferença.…”

“…No atual estudo as drogas vasoativas e os antimicrobianos também foram as principais terapias recusadas ou suspensas, que precederam os óbitos na UTI. Decisões semelhantes foram tomadas tanto por médicos europeus quanto por norte-americanos 20,22,25 . Outros estudos mostraram resultados diferentes no que concerne a qual terapia é mais freqüentemente recusada ou suspensa.…”