End-of-life care in the pediatric intensive care unit: research review and recommendations

Crit Care Clin. 2004 Jul;20(3):467-85, x. doi: 10.1016/j.ccc.2004.03.004.

Abstract

Improving the quality of end-of-life care has become a national health care priority. A necessary step in this process in the pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) is examining the knowledge, attitudes,and behaviors of pediatric critical care practitioners in this area. In addition, the perspectives of bereaved parents must be uncovered as well. In this article, the empirical data in the literature on end-of-life care in the pediatric ICU are reviewed, common ethical controversies in this environment are discussed, and promising interventions for the future are presented.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Analgesia / ethics
  • Analgesia / standards
  • Attitude of Health Personnel
  • Attitude to Death
  • Bereavement
  • Child
  • Conscious Sedation / ethics
  • Conscious Sedation / standards
  • Critical Care* / ethics
  • Critical Care* / organization & administration
  • Critical Care* / psychology
  • Decision Making
  • Evidence-Based Medicine
  • Forecasting
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infant Mortality
  • Intensive Care Units, Pediatric* / ethics
  • Intensive Care Units, Pediatric* / organization & administration
  • Parents / psychology
  • Practice Guidelines as Topic
  • Quality Assurance, Health Care / organization & administration
  • Resuscitation / ethics
  • Resuscitation / standards
  • Terminal Care* / ethics
  • Terminal Care* / organization & administration
  • Terminal Care* / psychology
  • United States / epidemiology
  • Withholding Treatment / ethics
  • Withholding Treatment / standards