Private attending physician status and the withdrawal of life-sustaining interventions in a medical intensive care unit population

Abstract

To assess the influence of private attending physician status on the withdrawal of life-sustaining interventions among patients dying within a medical intensive care unit (ICU). Retrospective cohort analysis. An academic tertiary care center. One hundred fifty-nine consecutive patient deaths occurring in the medical ICU during a 12-month period. None. Withdrawal of life-sustaining interventions (i.e., mechanical ventilation, dialysis, and/or vasopressors), duration of mechanical ventilation, length of intensive care unit stay, medical care costs, and patient charges were recorded. Among patients dying within a medical ICU, those patients without a private attending physician are more likely to undergo the active withdrawal of life-sustaining interventions.