Table 2 Criteria used to justify limiting life-support therapies for patients who died in ED
Criteria* | N (%) |
|---|---|
Principal acute presenting medical disorder | 0 |
Expected irreversibility of acute disorder in the first 24 h | 23(42.6) |
Age | 16(29.6) |
Previous functional limitation | 3(5.6) |
Underlying chronic disease | 17(31.5) |
Absence of improvement following a period of active treatment | 33(61.1) |
Underlying disease expected to be fatal in the following 6 months | 0 |
Recovery but expected quality of life unacceptably poor | 18(33.3) |
Level of care considered to be maximal (more aggressive therapy would be unreasonable) | 3(5.6) |
High cost of care | 8(14.8) |