Predictors of treatment limitations in Finnish intensive care units

• Published in: Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Vol. 66; no. 4; pp. 526 - 538
• Main Authors: Adamski, Jan, Weigl, Wojciech, Musialowicz, Tadeusz, Lahtinen, Pasi, Reinikainen, Matti
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-04-2022
• Subjects: Activities of Daily Living; Adult; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Confidence intervals; Decisions; end-of-life-decisions; Finland - epidemiology; Heart Arrest; Hemorrhage; Hospitals; Humans; Illnesses; Intensive care; intensive care unit; Intensive Care Units; Life Support Care; Liver; Liver Failure; Lung diseases; Metastases; Obstructive lung disease; Patients; Prospective Studies; Retrospective Studies; Statistical analysis; Trauma; withdrawal of life support; withholding of life support; Withholding Treatment; Finland; withholding of life support; withdrawal of life support; intensive care unit; end-of-life-decisions
• ISSN: 0001-5172; 1399-6576; 1399-6576
• DOI: 10.1111/aas.14035

Background
Few studies have examined the factors that predict the limitations of life‐sustaining treatment (LST) to patients in intensive care units (ICUs). We aimed to identify variables associated with the decision of withholding of life support (WHLS) at admission, WHLS during ICU stay and the withdrawal of ongoing life support (WDLS).
Methods
This retrospective observational study comprised 17,772 adult ICU patients who were included in the nationwide Finnish ICU Registry in 2016. Factors associated with LST limitations were identified using hierarchical logistic regression.
Results
The decision of WHLS at admission was made for 822 (4.6%) patients, WHLS during ICU stay for 949 (5.3%) patients, and WDLS for 669 (3.8%) patients. Factors strongly predicting WHLS at admission included old age (adjusted odds ratio [OR] for patients aged 90 years or older in reference to those younger than 40 years was 95.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 47.2–193.5), dependence on help for activities of daily living (OR, 3.55; 95% CI, 3.01–4.2), and metastatic cancer (OR, 4.34; 95% CI, 3.16–5.95). A high severity of illness predicted later decisions to limit LST. Diagnoses strongly associated with WHLS at admission were cardiac arrest, hepatic failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Later decisions were strongly associated with cardiac arrest, hepatic failure, non‐traumatic intracranial hemorrhage, head trauma and stroke.
Conclusion
Early decisions to limit LST were typically associated with old age and chronic poor health whereas later decisions were related to the severity of illness. Limitations are common for certain diagnoses, particularly cardiac arrest and hepatic failure.