Use of aggressive medical treatments near the end of life: differences between patients with and without dementia.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To analyze whether acute care patients with dementia are more or less likely to receive each of five aggressive medical services near the end of life, compared with patients without dementia.

Data sources

Two years of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Medicare utilization data for all 169,036 VA users nationwide age 67 and older who died between October 1, 1999 and September 30, 2001.

Study design

We performed a retrospective analysis of acute care stays discharged in the final 30 days of life. The main outcome measure was the patient's likelihood of receiving each of five aggressive services (intensive care unit [ICU] admission, ventilator, cardiac catheterization, pulmonary artery monitor, and dialysis), controlling for demographic and clinical factors in probit r

SUBMITTER: Richardson SS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1955744 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature