Publication
Neonatal end of life care in a tertiary care centre in Canada: a brief report
Sankaran K, Hedin E, Hodgson-Viden H · Zhongguo Dangdai Erke Zazhi · 2016
OBJECTIVE: To describe the processes followed by a neonatal team engaging parents with respect to end of life care of babies in whom long term survival was negligible or impossible; and to describe feedback from these parents after death of their child. METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted of health records of neonates who had died receiving palliative care over a period of 5 years at a tertiary neonatal centre. Specific inclusion criteria were determined in advance that identified care given by a dedicated group of caregivers. RESULTS: Thirty infants met eligibility criteria. After excluding one outlier an average of 4 discussions occurred with families before an end of life decision was arrived at. Switching from aggressive care to comfort care was a more common decision-making route than having palliative care from the outset. Ninety per cent of families indicated satisfaction with the decision making process at follow-up and more than half of them returned later to meet with the NICU team. Some concerns were expressed about the availability of neonatologists at weekends. CONCLUSIONS: A compassionate and humane approach to the family with honesty and empathy creates a positive environment for decision-making. An available, experienced team willing to engage families repeatedly is beneficial. Initiating intensive care with subsequent palliative care is acceptable to families and caregivers.
Synced from the TRENDS in Pediatric Palliative Care Zotero library, curated by The Siden Research Team. ICPCN does not host or verify the full text.