Summary The intensive care unit (ICU) is where patients are given some of the most technologically advanced life-sustaining treatments, and where difficult decisions are made about the usefulness of ...such treatments. The substantial regional variability in these ethical decisions is a result of many factors, including religious and cultural beliefs. Because most critically ill patients lack the capacity to make decisions, family and other individuals often act as the surrogate decision makers, and in many regions communication between the clinician and family is central to decision making in the ICU. Elsewhere, involvement of the family is reduced and that of the physicians is increased. End-of-life care is associated with increased burnout and distress among clinicians working in the ICU. Since many deaths in the ICU are preceded by a decision to withhold or withdraw life support, high-quality decision making and end-of-life care are essential in all regions, and can improve patient and family outcomes, and also retention of clinicians working in the ICU. To make such a decision requires adequate training, good communication between the clinician and family, and the collaboration of a well functioning interdisciplinary team.
Palliative care is an interprofessional specialty as well as an approach to care by all clinicians caring for patients with serious and complex illness. Unlike hospice, palliative care is based not ...on prognosis but on need and is an essential component of comprehensive care for critically ill patients from the time of ICU admission. In this clinically focused article, we review evidence of opportunities to improve palliative care for critically ill adults, summarize strategies for ICU palliative care improvement, and identify resources to support implementation.
We searched the MEDLINE database from inception through January 2014. We also searched the Reference Library of The Improving Palliative Care in the ICU Project website sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the Center to Advance Palliative Care, which is updated monthly. We hand-searched reference lists and author files.
Selected studies included all English-language articles concerning adult patients using the search terms 'intensive care' or 'critical care' with 'palliative care,' 'supportive care,' 'end-of-life care,' or 'ethics.'
: After examination of peer-reviewed original scientific articles, consensus statements, guidelines, and reviews resulting from our literature search, we made final selections based on author consensus.
Existing evidence is organized to address: 1) opportunities to alleviate physical and emotional symptoms, improve communication, and provide support for patients and families; 2) models and specific interventions for improving ICU palliative care; 3) available resources for ICU palliative care improvement; and 4) ongoing challenges and targets for future research. Key domains of ICU palliative care have been defined and operationalized as measures of quality. There is increasing recognition that effective integration of palliative care during acute and chronic critical illness may help patients and families face challenges after discharge from intensive care.
Palliative care is increasingly accepted as an essential component of comprehensive care for critically ill patients, regardless of diagnosis or prognosis. A variety of strategies to improve ICU palliative care appear to be effective, and resources including technical assistance and tools are available to support improvement efforts. As the longer-term impact of intensive care on those surviving acute critical illness is increasingly documented, palliative care can help prepare and support patients and families for challenges after ICU discharge. Further research is needed to inform efforts to integrate palliative care with intensive care more effectively and efficiently in and after the ICU and to document improvement using valid and responsive outcome measures.
Because most critically ill patients lack decision-making capacity, physicians often ask family members to act as surrogates for the patient in discussions about the goals of care. Therefore, ...clinician-family communication is a central component of medical decision making in the ICU, and the quality of this communication has direct bearing on decisions made regarding care for critically ill patients. In addition, studies suggest that clinician-family communication can also have profound effects on the experiences and long-term mental health of family members. The purpose of this narrative review is to provide a context and rationale for improving the quality of communication with family members and to provide practical, evidence-based guidance on how to conduct this communication in the ICU setting. We emphasize the importance of discussing prognosis effectively, the key role of the integrated interdisciplinary team in this communication, and the importance of assessing spiritual needs and addressing barriers that can be raised by cross-cultural communication. We also discuss the potential value of protocols to encourage communication and the potential role of quality improvement for enhancing communication with family members. Last, we review issues regarding physician reimbursement for communication with family members within the context of the US health-care system. Communication with family members in the ICU setting is complex, and high-quality communication requires training and collaboration of a well-functioning interdisciplinary team. This communication also requires a balance between adhering to processes of care that are associated with improved outcomes and individualizing communication to the unique needs of the family.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is stressing health care systems throughout the world. Significant numbers of patients are being admitted to the hospital with severe illness, often ...in the setting of advanced age and underlying comorbidities. Therefore, palliative care is an important part of the response to this pandemic. The Seattle area and UW Medicine have been on the forefront of the pandemic in the U.S.
UW Medicine developed a strategy to implement a palliative care response for a multihospital health care system that incorporates conventional capacity, contingency capacity, and crisis capacity. The strategy was developed by our palliative care programs with input from the health care system leadership.
In this publication, we share our multifaceted strategy to implement high-quality palliative care in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic that incorporates conventional, contingency, and crisis capacity and focuses on the areas of the hospital caring for the most patients: the emergency department, intensive care units, and acute care services. The strategy focuses on key content areas, including identifying and addressing goals of care, addressing moderate and severe symptoms, and supporting family members.
Strategy planning for delivery of high-quality palliative care in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic represents an important area of need for our health care systems. We share our experiences of developing such a strategy to help other institutions conduct and adapt such strategies more quickly.
Objectives
To investigate associations between acute care and critical illness hospitalizations and performance on physical functional measures and activities of daily living (ADLs).
Design
...Prospective cohort study.
Setting
Large health maintenance organization.
Participants
Two thousand nine hundred twenty‐six participants in Adult Changes in Thought, a study of aging enrolling dementia‐free individuals aged 65 and older not living in a nursing home from 1994 to September 30, 2008 (N = 2,926).
Measurements
The exposure of interest was hospitalization during study participation, subdivided by presence of critical illness. Outcomes included gait speed, grip strength, chair stand speed, and difficulty and dependence in performing ADLs measured at biennial visits.
Results
Median time between hospital discharge and the next study visit was 311 days (interquartile range (IQR) 151–501 days) after acute care hospitalization and 359 days (IQR 181–420 days) after critical illness hospitalization. Gait speed was slower after acute care (−0.05 m/s, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.01–0.04 m/s slower, P < .001) and critical illness (−0.16 m/s, 95% CI = −0.22 to −0.10, P < .001). Grip was weaker after acute care hospitalization (−0.8 kg, 95% CI = −1.0 to −0.6, P < .001) but not significantly different after critical illness hospitalization. Chair‐stand speed was slower after acute care hospitalization (−0.04 stands/s, 95% CVI = −0.05 to −0.04, P < .001) and critical illness hospitalization (−0.09, 95% CI = −0.15 to −0.03, P = .003). The odds of difficulty with (odds ratio (OR) = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.2–1.6, P < .001) or dependence in (OR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.2–3.2, P = .006) one or more ADLs was higher after acute care hospitalization, as were the odds of difficulty with (OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.1–3.6, P = .03) or dependence in (OR = 7.9, 95% CI = 2.5–25.7, P = .001) one or more ADLs after critical illness.
Conclusion
In older adults, hospitalization, especially for critical illness, was associated with clinically relevant decline in gait and chair stand speed and strongly associated with difficulty with and dependence in ADLs.
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