Unintended Consequences of Code Status in the Intensive Care Unit: What Happens After a Do-Not-Resuscitate Order Is Placed? A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Some clinicians suspect that patients with do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders receive less aggressive care. Extrapolation from code status to goals of care could cause significant harm. This study asked the question: Do DNR orders in the intensive care unit (ICU) lead to a decrease in invasive interventions? Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of ICU patients from three teaching hospitals. All ICU patients were assessed for inclusion. Exclusion criteria were medical futility and death, comfort care, or ICU discharge <48 hours after DNR initiation. Five hundred thirty-six patients met inclusion criteria. One hundred forty-five were included in the final analysis. Primary outcomes were occurrence of invasive interventions after DNR initiation-surgical operation, central line, ventilation, dialysis, or other procedure. Secondary outcomes were antibiotic administration, blood transfusion, mortality, and discharge location. Results: Patients with DNR orders underwent fewer surgical operations (14.5% vs. 31.1%, p = 0.002), but more central lines (42.1% vs. 23.0%, p = 0.009), ventilator use (49.0% vs. 18.9%, p < 0.001), and dialysis (20.0% vs. 4.1%, p = 0.002), compared with patients without DNR orders. Transfusions and antibiotic use decreased similarly over admission for both groups (transfusions: ß = 1.25; p = 0.59; and antibiotics: ß = 1.44; p = 0.27). Mortality and hospice discharges were higher for DNR patients (p < 0.001.). Conclusions: DNR status did not decrease the number of nonoperative interventions patients received as compared with full code counterparts. Although differences in populations existed, patients with DNR orders were likely to receive a similar number of invasive interventions. This finding suggests that providers do not wholesale limit these options for patients with code status limitations.

Understanding How Clinicians Personalize Fluid and Vasopressor Decisions in Early Sepsis Management.

Importance: Recent sepsis trials suggest that fluid-liberal vs fluid-restrictive resuscitation has similar outcomes. These trials used generalized approaches to resuscitation, and little is known about how clinicians personalize fluid and vasopressor administration in practice. Objective: To understand how clinicians personalize decisions about resuscitation in practice. Design, Setting, and Participants: This survey study of US clinicians in the Society of Critical Care Medicine membership roster was conducted from November 2022 to January 2023. Surveys contained 10 vignettes of patients with sepsis where pertinent clinical factors (eg, fluid received and volume status) were randomized. Respondents selected the next steps in management. Data analysis was conducted from February to September 2023. Exposure: Online Qualtrics clinical vignette survey. Main Outcomes and Measures: Using multivariable logistic regression, the associations of clinical factors with decisions about fluid administration, vasopressor initiation, and vasopressor route were tested. Results are presented as adjusted proportions with 95% CIs. Results: Among 11 203 invited clinicians, 550 (4.9%; 261 men [47.5%] and 192 women [34.9%]; 173 with >15 years of practice [31.5%]) completed at least 1 vignette and were included. A majority were physicians (337 respondents [61.3%]) and critical care trained (369 respondents [67.1%]). Fluid volume already received by a patient was associated with resuscitation decisions. After 1 L of fluid, an adjusted 82.5% (95% CI, 80.2%-84.8%) of respondents prescribed additional fluid and an adjusted 55.0% (95% CI, 51.9%-58.1%) initiated vasopressors. After 5 L of fluid, an adjusted 17.5% (95% CI, 15.1%-19.9%) of respondents prescribed more fluid while an adjusted 92.7% (95% CI, 91.1%-94.3%) initiated vasopressors. More respondents prescribed fluid when the patient examination found dry vs wet (ie, overloaded) volume status (adjusted proportion, 66.9% [95% CI, 62.5%-71.2%] vs adjusted proportion, 26.5% [95% CI, 22.3%-30.6%]). Medical history, respiratory status, lactate trend, and acute kidney injury had small associations with fluid and vasopressor decisions. In 1023 of 1127 vignettes (90.8%) where the patient did not have central access, respondents were willing to start vasopressors through a peripheral intravenous catheter. In cases where patients were already receiving peripheral norepinephrine, respondents were more likely to place a central line at higher norepinephrine doses of 0.5 µg/kg/min (adjusted proportion, 78.0%; 95% CI, 74.7%-81.2%) vs 0.08 µg/kg/min (adjusted proportion, 25.2%; 95% CI, 21.8%-28.5%) and after 24 hours (adjusted proportion, 59.5%; 95% CI, 56.6%-62.5%) vs 8 hours (adjusted proportion, 47.1%; 95% CI, 44.0%-50.1%). Conclusions and Relevance: These findings suggest that fluid volume received is the predominant factor associated with ongoing fluid and vasopressor decisions, outweighing many other clinical factors. Peripheral vasopressor use is common. Future studies aimed at personalizing resuscitation must account for fluid volumes and should incorporate specific tools to help clinicians personalize resuscitation.

Exercising medical judgement: resuscitation and "Decision-Making for End-of-Life Care," a new policy from the College of Physician and Surgeons of Ontario.

In March 2023, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) updated their policy entitled Decision-Making for End-of-Life Care. This policy will significantly change the landscape and clinical practice in Canada's most populous province with respect to decision-making for resuscitation. The update interrupts approximately eight years of CPSO policy that has mandated physicians to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and other resuscitative measures unless they can explicitly obtain consent in the form of a do-not-resuscitate or no-CPR order. The policy is now aligned with the Wawrzyniak v. Livingstone, 2019 court decision which reaffirmed that physicians must only offer treatments that they think are within the standard of care and not offer treatments that are not likely to benefit their patient. In this commentary, we review the historical aspects of the CPSO policy from 2015 to 2023 and discuss how such a policy of a "consent to withhold" paradigm was ethically problematic and likely led to significant harm. We then review the updated CPSO policy, outline some remaining areas of uncertainty and challenges, and make recommendations for how to interpret this policy in clinical practice.

RéSUMé: En mars 2023, l'Ordre des médecins et chirurgiens de l'Ontario (OMCO) a mis à jour sa politique intitulée Prise de décision pour les soins de fin de vie. Cette politique changera considérablement le paysage et la pratique clinique dans la province la plus peuplée du Canada en ce qui concerne la prise de décision en matière de réanimation. Cette mise à jour met fin à environ huit ans de politique de l'OMCO qui mandatait les médecins de procéder à la réanimation cardiorespiratoire (RCR) et de pratiquer d'autres mesures de réanimation, à moins d'avoir explicitement obtenu le consentement sous la forme d'une ordonnance de non-réanimation ou d'interdiction de RCR. La politique s'aligne maintenant sur la décision de la Cour dans Wawrzyniak c. Livingstone, 2019, qui a réaffirmé que les médecins ne doivent offrir que des traitements jugés conformes à la norme de soins et ne doivent pas offrir de traitements qui ne sont pas susceptibles d'être bénéfiques pour leur patient·e. Dans ce commentaire, nous passons en revue les aspects historiques de la politique de l'OMCO de 2015 à 2023 et discutons de la façon dont une telle politique fondée sur un paradigme de « consentement à retenir les soins ¼ était problématique sur le plan éthique et a probablement entraîné un préjudice important. Nous passons ensuite en revue la politique mise à jour de l'OMCO, décrivons certains domaines d'incertitude et de défis qui subsistent, et formulons des recommandations sur la façon d'interpréter cette politique dans la pratique clinique.

Development and validation of a prehospital termination of resuscitation (TOR) rule for out - of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) cases using general purpose artificial intelligence (AI).

BACKGROUND: Prehospital identification of futile resuscitation efforts (defined as a predicted probability of survival lower than 1%) for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) may reduce unnecessary transport. Reliable prediction variables for OHCA 'termination of resuscitation' (TOR) rules are needed to guide treatment decisions. The Universal TOR rule uses only three variables (Absence of Prehospital ROSC, Event not witnessed by EMS and no shock delivered on the scene) has been externally validated and is used by many EMS systems. Deep learning, an artificial intelligence (AI) platform is an attractive model to guide the development of TOR rule for OHCA. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of developing an AI-TOR rule for neurologically favorable outcomes using general purpose AI and compare its performance to the Universal TOR rule. METHODS: We identified OHCA cases of presumed cardiac etiology who were 18 years of age or older from 2016 to 2019 in the All-Japan Utstein Registry. We divided the dataset into 2 parts, the first half (2016-2017) was used as a training dataset for rule development and second half (2018-2019) for validation. The AI software (Prediction One®) created the model using the training dataset with internal cross-validation. It also evaluated the prediction accuracy and displayed the ranking of influencing variables. We performed validation using the second half cases and calculated the prediction model AUC. The top four of the 11 variables identified in the model were then selected as prognostic factors to be used in an AI-TOR rule, and sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were calculated from validation cohort. This was then compared to the performance of the Universal TOR rule using same dataset. RESULTS: There were 504,561 OHCA cases, 18 years of age or older, 302,799 cases were presumed cardiac origin. Of these, 149,425 cases were used for the training dataset and 153,374 cases for the validation dataset. The model developed by AI using 11 variables had an AUC of 0.969, and its AUC for the validation dataset was 0.965. The top four influencing variables for neurologically favorable outcome were Prehospital ROSC, witnessed by EMS, Age (68 years old and younger) and nonasystole. The AUC calculated using the 4 variables for the AI-TOR rule was 0.953, and its AUC for the validation dataset was 0.952 (95%CI 0.949 -0.954). Of 80,198 patients in the validation cohort that satisfied all four criteria for the AI-TOR rule, 58 (0.07%) had a neurologically favorable one-month survival. The specificity of AI-TOR rule was 0.990, and the PPV was 0.999 for predicting lack of neurologically favorable survival, both the specificity and PPV were higher than that achieved with the universal TOR (0.959, 0.998). CONCLUSIONS: The accuracy of prediction models using AI software to determine outcomes in OHCA was excellent and the AI-TOR rule's variables from prediction model performed better than the Universal TOR rule. External validation of our findings as well as further research into the utility of using AI platforms for TOR prediction in clinical practice is needed.

Associations between Present-on-Admission Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders and Short-Term Outcomes in Patients with Pneumonia.

OBJECTIVES: Do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders are used to express patient preferences for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. This study examined whether early DNR orders are associated with differences in treatments and outcomes among patients hospitalized with pneumonia. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of 768,015 adult patients hospitalized with pneumonia from 2010 to 2015 in 646 US hospitals. The exposure was DNR orders present on admission. Secondary analyses stratified patients by predicted in-hospital mortality. Main outcomes included in-hospital mortality, length of stay, cost, intensive care admission, invasive mechanical ventilation, noninvasive ventilation, vasopressors, and dialysis initiation. RESULTS: Of 768,015 patients, 94,155 (12.3%) had an early DNR order. Compared with those without, patients with DNR orders were older (mean age 80.1 ± 10.6 years vs 67.8 ± 16.4 years), with higher comorbidity burden, intensive care use (31.6% vs 30.6%), and in-hospital mortality (28.2% vs 8.5%). After adjustment via propensity score weighting, these patients had higher mortality (odds ratio [OR] 2.39, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.33-2.45) and lower use of intensive therapies such as vasopressors (OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.81-0.85) and invasive mechanical ventilation (OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.66-0.70). Although there was little relationship between predicted mortality and DNR orders, among those with highest predicted mortality, DNR orders were associated with lower intensive care use compared with those without (66.7% vs 80.8%). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with early DNR orders have higher in-hospital mortality rates than those without, but often receive intensive care. These orders have the most impact on the care of patients with the highest mortality risk.

Trauma Bay Evaluation and Resuscitative Decision-Making.

The reader of this article will now have the ability to reflect on all aspects of high-quality trauma bay care, from resuscitation to diagnosis and leadership to debriefing. Although there is no replacement for experience, both clinically and in a simulation environment, trauma clinicians are encouraged to make use of this article both as a primer at the beginning of a trauma rotation and a reference text to revisit after difficult cases in the trauma bay. Also, periods of reflection seem appropriate in the busy but, of course, rewarding career in trauma care.

A questionnaire survey on the implementation of palliative care in the emergency department in China.

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to characterize the need for palliative care and its effect on patients with end-stage disease in the emergency department (ED). DESIGN: This was a prospective cohort study. A questionnaire survey was administered to patients with end-stage disease who were admitted to the resuscitation room of the ED and expected to live less than 6 months. RESULTS: A total of 82 of 2095 patients admitted to the resuscitation room were included. Only 1 (1.22%) patient had ever received palliative care before admission. Nine patients received palliative care consultation after admission, and they were more likely to select medical places of death accompanied by their families and do not resuscitate orders at the end of life after consultation (P < 0.05). Whether the disease had previously been actively treated and the number of children impacted the choice of treatment at the end of life (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with end-stage disease admitted to the ED, knowledge of palliative care was lacking. Palliative care could help them avoid the damage caused by pointless resuscitation.

Do-not-attempt resuscitation policy reduced in-hospital cardiac arrest rate and the cost of care in a developing country.

We aim to study the characteristics and outcomes of patients with a Do-Not-Attempt Resuscitation and to determine its impact on the Cost of In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest. A retrospective study of all adult patients admitted to the hospital from June 2021 to May 2022 who had a Do-Not-Resuscitate order. We abstracted patients' socio-demographics, physiologic parameters, primary diagnosis, and comorbidities from the electronic medical records. We calculated the potential economic cost using the median ICU length of stay for the admitted IHCA patients during the study period. There were 28,866 acute admissions over the study period, and 788 patients had DNR orders. The median (IQR) age was 71 (55-82) years, and 50.3% were males. The most prevalent primary diagnosis was sepsis, 426 (54.3%), and cancer was the most common comorbidity. More than one comorbidities were present in 642 (80%) of the cohort. Of the DNR patients, 492 (62.4%) died, while 296 (37.6%) survived to discharge. Cancer was the primary diagnosis in 65 (22.2%) of those who survived, compared with 154 (31.3%) of those who died (P = 0.002). Over the study period, 153 patients had IHCA and underwent CPR, with an IHCA rate of 5.3 per 1,000 hospital admissions. Without a DNR policy, an additional 492 patients with cardiac arrest would have had CPR, resulting in an IHCA rate of 22.3 per 1000 hospital admissions. Most DNR patients in our setting had sepsis complicated by multiple comorbidities. The DNR policy reduced our IHCA incidence by 76% and prevented unnecessary post-resuscitation ICU care.

An Integrative Review of the State of POLST Science: What Do We Know and Where Do We Go?

OBJECTIVES: POLST is widely used in the care of seriously ill patients to document decisions made during advance care planning (ACP) conversations as actionable medical orders. We conducted an integrative review of existing research to better understand associations between POLST use and key ACP outcomes as well as to identify directions for future research. DESIGN: Integrative review. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Not applicable. METHODS: We queried PubMed and CINAHL databases using names of POLST programs to identify research on POLST. We abstracted study information and assessed study design quality. Study outcomes were categorized using the international ACP Outcomes Framework: Process, Action, Quality of Care, Health Status, and Healthcare Utilization. RESULTS: Of 94 POLST studies identified, 38 (40%) had at least a moderate level of study design quality and 15 (16%) included comparisons between POLST vs non-POLST patient groups. There was a significant difference between groups for 40 of 70 (57%) ACP outcomes. The highest proportion of significant outcomes was in Quality of Care (15 of 19 or 79%). In subdomain analyses of Quality of Care, POLST use was significantly associated with concordance between treatment and documentation (14 of 18 or 78%) and preferences concordant with documentation (1 of 1 or 100%). The Action outcome domain had the second highest positive rate among outcome domains; 9 of 12 (75%) Action outcomes were significant. Healthcare Utilization outcomes were the most frequently assessed and approximately half (16 of 35 or 46%) were significant. Health Status outcomes were not significant (0 of 4 or 0%), and no Process outcomes were identified. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Findings of this review indicate that POLST use is significantly associated with a Quality of Care and Action outcomes, albeit in nonrandomized studies. Future research on POLST should focus on prospective mixed methods studies and high-quality pragmatic trials that assess a broad range of person and health system-level outcomes.

Characteristics and outcomes of patients with do-not-resuscitate and physician orders for life-sustaining treatment in a medical intensive care unit: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: In the intensive care unit (ICU), we may encounter patients who have completed a Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) or a Physician Orders to Stop Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) document. However, the characteristics of ICU patients who choose DNR/POLST are not well understood. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the electronic medical records of 577 patients admitted to a medical ICU from October 2019 to November 2020, focusing on the characteristics of patients according to whether they completed DNR/POLST documents. Patients were categorized into DNR/POLST group and no DNR/POLST group according to whether they completed DNR/POLST documents, and logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate factors influencing DNR/POLST document completion. RESULTS: A total of 577 patients were admitted to the ICU. Of these, 211 patients (36.6%) had DNR or POLST records. DNR and/or POLST were completed prior to ICU admission in 48 (22.7%) patients. The DNR/POLST group was older (72.9 ± 13.5 vs. 67.6 ± 13.8 years, p < 0.001) and had higher Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score (26.1 ± 9.2 vs. 20.3 ± 7.7, p < 0.001) and clinical frailty scale (5.1 ± 1.4 vs. 4.4 ± 1.4, p < 0.001) than the other groups. Solid tumors, hematologic malignancies, and chronic lung disease were the most common comorbidities in the DNR/POLST groups. The DNR/POLST group had higher ICU and in-hospital mortality and more invasive treatments (arterial line, central line, renal replacement therapy, invasive mechanical ventilation) than the other groups. Body mass index, APAHCE II score, hematologic malignancy, DNR/POLST were factors associated with in-hospital mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Among ICU patients, 36.6% had DNR or POLST orders and received more invasive treatments. This is contrary to the common belief that DNR/POLST patients would receive less invasive treatment and underscores the need to better understand and include end-of-life care as an important ongoing aspect of patient care, along with communication with patients and families.

Comprehensive geriatric assessment as an essential tool to register or update DNR codes in a tertiary care hospital.

PURPOSE: To investigate the prevalence of Do not Resuscitate (DNR) code registration in patients with a geriatric profile admitted to Antwerp University Hospital, a tertiary care hospital in Flanders, Belgium, and the impact of comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) on DNR code registration. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Retrospective analysis of a population of 543 geriatric patients (mean age 82.4 ± 5.19 years, 46.4% males) admitted to Antwerp University Hospital from 2018 to 2020 who underwent a CGA during admission. An association between DNR code registration status before and at hospital admission and age, gender, ethnicity, type of residence, clinical frailty score (CFS), cognitive and oncological status, hospital ward and stay on intensive care was studied. Admissions before and during the first wave of the pandemic were compared. RESULTS: At the time of hospital admission, a DNR code had been registered for 66.3% (360/543) of patients. Patients with a DNR code at hospital admission were older (82.7 ± 5.5 vs. 81.7 ± 4.6 years, p = 0.031), more frail (CFS 5.11 ± 1.63 vs. 4.70 ± 1.61, p = 0.006) and less likely to be admitted to intensive care. During the hospital stay, the proportion of patients with a DNR code increased to 77% before and to 85.3% after CGA (p < 0.0001). Patients were consulted about and agreed with the registered DNR code in 55.8% and 52.1% of cases, respectively. The proportion of patients with DNR codes at the time of admission or registered after CGA did not differ significantly before and after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSION: After CGA, a significant increase in DNR registration was observed in hospitalized patients with a geriatric profile.

Surrogate Decision-Making After Stroke in a Community Setting: The OASIS Project.

BACKGROUND: Patients with severe stroke often rely on surrogate decision-makers for life-sustaining treatment decisions. We investigated ethnic differences between Mexican Americans (MAs) and non-Hispanic White (NHW) individuals in surrogate reports of physician quality of communication and shared decision-making from the OASIS study (Outcomes Among Surrogate Decision Makers in Stroke) project. METHODS: Patients had ischemic stroke or intracerebral hemorrhage in Nueces County, TX. Surrogates self-identified as being involved in decisions about do-not-resuscitate orders, brain surgery, ventilator, feeding tube, or hospice/comfort care. Surrogate reports of physician quality of communication (scale score, range from 0 to 10) and shared decision-making (CollaboRATE scale score, binary score 1 versus 0) were compared by ethnicity with linear or logistic regression using generalized estimating equations, adjusted for prespecified demographics, clinical factors, and confounders. RESULTS: Between April 2016 and September 2020, 320 surrogates for 257 patients with stroke enrolled (MA, 158; NHW, 85; and other, 14). Overall quality of communication score was better among surrogates of MA patients than NHW individuals after adjustment for demographics, stroke severity, and patient survival though the ethnic difference was attenuated (ß, 0.47 [95% CI, -0.17 to 1.12]; P=0.15) after adjustment for trust in the medical profession and frequency of personal prayer. High CollaboRATE scale scores were more common among surrogates of MA patients than NHW individuals (unadjusted odds ratio, 1.75 [95% CI, 1.04-2.95]). This association persisted after adjustment for demographic and clinical factors though there was an interaction between patient age and ethnicity (P=0.04), suggesting that this difference was primarily in older patients. CONCLUSIONS: Surrogate decision-makers of MA patients generally reported better outcomes on validated measures of quality of communication and shared decision-making than NHW individuals. Further study of outcomes among diverse populations of stroke surrogate decision-makers may help to identify sources of strength and resiliency that may be broadly applicable.

A Quality Improvement Initiative to Increase Documentation of Preferences for Life-Sustaining Treatment in Hospitalized Adults.

BACKGROUND: Portable Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) forms allow patients to codify their preferences for life-sustaining treatments across inpatient and outpatient settings. In 2019 only 29.5% of our hospitalized internal medicine patients with an inpatient do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order and no DNR POLST at admission discharged with a DNR POLST. This presented an opportunity to improve POLST completion and avoid undesired or inappropriate care after discharge. METHODS: Using electronic health record (EHR) data, the authors identified hospitalized adults (age ≥ 50 years) admitted to an internal medicine service with a DNR order and discharged alive. Patient records were cross-referenced with the state's POLST registry for an active POLST form. Among patients with a missing or full-code POLST form at admission, the authors calculated the proportion with a DNR POLST form completed by discharge. These data were tracked over time with control charts to detect performance shifts following three Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles over 34 months, which included a single educational training on electronic POLST navigation, an EHR discharge navigator notification, and quarterly e-mailed individualized performance reports. RESULTS: The study population (N = 387) was 55.0% male and predominately non-Hispanic white (80.9%). Patients discharging to a skilled nursing facility or hospice were three times more likely to discharge with a DNR POLST compared to patients discharging home. Overall, the proportion of DNR POLST forms completed by discharge increased from 0.36 to 0.60 after three PDSA cycles (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This quality improvement initiative demonstrated improved POLST form completion rates in a target population of adults at elevated risk for readmission and death.

Palliative Medicine and End of Life Care Between Races in an Academic Intensive Care Unit.

Background: Although palliative medicine (PM) is more commonly being integrated into the intensive care unit (ICU), research on racial disparities in this area is lacking. Our objectives were to (a) identify racial disparities in utilization of PM consultation for patients who received ICU care and (b) determine if there were differences in the use of code status or PM consultation over time based on race. Materials and Methods: Retrospective analysis of 571 patients, 18 years and above, at a tertiary care institution who received ICU care and died during their hospital stay. We analyzed two timeframes, 2008-2009 and 2018-2019. Univariate analysis was utilized to evaluate baseline characteristics. A multivariate logistic regression model and interaction P values were employed to assess for differential use of PM consultation, do not resuscitate (DNR) orders, and comfort care (CC) orders between races in aggregate and for changes over time. Results: There was a notable increase in Black/African-American (AA) (54% to 61%) and Hispanic/Latino (2% to 3%) patients over time in our population. Compared to White patients, we found no differences between PM consultation and CC orders. There was a lower probability of DNR orders for Black/AA (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.569; P = .049; confidence interval [CI]: 0.324-0.997) and other/unknown/multiracial patients (aOR: 0.389; P = .273; CI: 0.169-0.900). Comparing our earlier time period to the later time period, we found an increased usage of PM for all patients. Interaction P values suggest there were no differences between races regarding PM, DNR, and CC orders. Conclusions: PM use has increased over time at our institution. Contrary to the previous literature, there were no differences in the frequency of utilization of PM consultation between races. Further analysis to evaluate the usage of PM in the ICU setting in varying populations and geographic locations is warranted.

Utilization of Hospital Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders in Older Adults During COVID-19 Surges in 2020.

Background: Reports of poor outcomes among older adults with COVID-19 may have changed patient perceptions of Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) orders or caused providers to pressure older adults into accepting DNR orders to conserve resources. Objective: We determined early-DNR utilization during COVID-19 surges compared with nonsurge periods among nonsurgical adults ≥75 and its connection to hospital mortality. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study among adults ≥75 years using the California Patient Discharge Database 2020. The primary outcome was early-DNR utilization. Control cohorts included nonsurgical adults <75 years in 2020 and nonsurgical adults ≥75 in 2019. Multiple causal inference methods were used to address measured and unmeasured confounding. Results: A total of 487,955 adults ≥75 years were identified, with 233,678 admitted during COVID-19 surges. Older adults admitted during surges had higher rates of early-DNR orders (30.1% vs. 29.4%, absolute risk differences = 0.7, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.5-1.0) even after adjusting for patient case-mix (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.02, 95% CI: 1.01-1.04). Patients with early-DNR orders experienced higher hospital mortality (15.5% vs. 4.8%, aOR = 3.96, 95% CI: 3.85-4.06). Difference-in-difference analyses demonstrated that adults <75 years in 2020 and adults ≥75 years in 2019 did not experience variation in early-DNR utilization. Conclusions: Older adults had slightly higher rates of early-DNR orders during COVID-19 surges compared with nonsurge periods. While the difference in early-DNR utilization was small, it was linked to higher odds of death. The increase in early-DNR use only during COVID-19 surges and only among older adults may reflect changes in patient preferences or increased pressure on older adults stemming from provider fears of rationing during COVID-19 surges.

Peri-operative decisions about cardiopulmonary resuscitation among adults as reported to the 7th National Audit Project of the Royal College of Anaesthetists.

Current guidance recommends that, in most circumstances, cardiopulmonary resuscitation should be attempted when cardiac arrest occurs during anaesthesia, and when a patient has a pre-existing 'do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation' recommendation, this should be suspended. How this guidance is translated into everyday clinical practice in the UK is currently unknown. Here, as part of the 7th National Audit Project of the Royal College of Anaesthetists, we have: assessed the rates of pre-operative 'do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation' recommendations via an activity survey of all cases undertaken by anaesthetists over four days in each participating site; and analysed our one-year case registry of peri-operative cardiac arrests to understand the rates of cardiac arrest in patients who had 'do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation' decisions pre-operatively. In the activity survey, among 20,717 adults (aged > 18 y) undergoing surgery, 595 (3%) had a 'do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation' recommendation pre-operatively, of which less than a third (175, 29%) were suspended. Of the 881 peri-operative cardiac arrest reports, 54 (6%) patients had a 'do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation' recommendation made pre-operatively and of these 38 (70%) had a clinical frailty scale score ≥ 5. Just under half (25, 46%) of these 'do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation' recommendations were formally suspended at the time of anaesthesia and surgery. One in five of these patients with a 'do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation' recommendation who had a cardiac arrest survived to leave hospital and of the seven patients with documented modified Rankin Scale scores before and after cardiac arrest, four remained the same and three had worse scores. Very few patients who had a pre-existing 'do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation' recommendation had a peri-operative cardiac arrest, and when cardiac arrest did occur, return of spontaneous circulation was achieved in 57%, although > 50% of these patients subsequently died before discharge from hospital.