Abstract
Background:
For hospitalized children admitted outside of a critical care unit, the location, mode of death, “do-not-resuscitate” order (DNR) use, and involvement of palliative care teams have not been described across high-income countries.
Objective:
To describe location of death, patient and terminal care plan characteristics of pediatric inpatient deaths inside and outside the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).
Design:
Secondary analysis of inpatient deaths in the Evaluating Processes of Care and Outcomes of Children in Hospital (EPOCH) randomized controlled trial.
Setting/Subjects:
Twenty-one centers from Canada, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.
Measurement:
Descriptive statistics were used to compare patient and terminal care plan characteristics. A multivariable generalized estimating equation examined if palliative care consult during hospital admission was associated with location of death.
Results:
A total of 365 of 144,539 patients enrolled in EPOCH died; 219 (60%) died in PICU and 143 (40%) died on another inpatient unit. Compared with other inpatient wards, patients who died in PICU were less likely to be expected to die, have a DNR or palliative care consult. Hospital palliative care consultation was more common in older children and independently associated with a lower adjusted odds (95% confidence interval) of dying in PICU [0.59 (0.52–0.68)].
Conclusion:
Most pediatric inpatient deaths occur in PICU where patients were less likely to have a DNR or palliative care consult. Palliative care consultation could be better integrated into end-of-life care for younger children and those dying in PICU.
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