End-of-life expenditure in the ICU and perceived quality of dying.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Although end-of-life care in the ICU accounts for a large proportion of health-care costs, few studies have examined the association between costs and satisfaction with care. The objective of this study was to investigate the association of ICU costs with family- and nurse-assessed quality of dying and family satisfaction.

Methods

This was an observational study surveying families and nurses for patients who died in the ICU or within 30 h of transfer from the ICU. A total of 607 patients from two Seattle hospitals were included in the study. Survey data were linked with administrative records to obtain ICU and hospital costs. Regression analyses assessed the association between costs and outcomes assessing satisfaction with care: nurse- and family-assessed Quality

SUBMITTER: Khandelwal N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4251619 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature