Dying in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU): A Retrospective Descriptive Analysis of Deaths in the ICU in a Communal Tertiary Hospital in Germany
Table 2
Therapy measures at end-of-life versus sex, age, and advance directive. Numbers are shown as absolute numbers n and percentage (%) of all patients dying in ICU/IMC or as percentage of patients in the subgroup, e.g., all female patients or all patients between 50 and 59 years old.
Measures at end-of-life
n
IV
NIV
RRT
Catecholamines
Invasive BPM
CVL
CPR
Analgesia
Sedation
Antibiotic therapy
Diuretic therapy
Other drugs
Feeding nutrition
Yes
489
260
26
48
234
315
318
85
387
179
263
199
361
268
53.2%
5.3%
9.8%
47.9%
64.4%
65.0%
17.4%
79.1%
36.6%
53.8%
40.7%
73.8%
54.8%
Sex
Male
266
145
13
30
130
170
168
57
202
96
140
105
193
144
54.5%
4.9%
11.3%
48.9%
63.9%
63.2%
21.4%
75.9%
36.1%
52.6%
39.5%
72.6%
54.1%
Female
223
115
13
18
104
145
150
28
185
83
123
94
168
124
51.6%
5.8%
8.1%
46.6%
65.0%
67.3%
12.6%
83.0%
37.2%
55.2%
42.2%
75.3%
55.6%
Age (years)
18–29
4
3
0
0
2
3
4
1
3
2
1
1
4
2
75.0%
0.0%
0.0%
50.0%
75.0%
100.0%
25.0%
75.0%
50.0%
25.0%
25.0%
100.0%
50.0%
30–39
5
4
0
0
4
4
4
1
4
3
4
1
5
2
80.0%
0.0%
0.0%
80.0%
80.0%
80.0%
20.0%
80.0%
60.0%
80.0%
20.0%
100.0%
40.0%
40–49
19
15
0
6
13
16
16
5
11
8
9
5
12
9
78.9%
0.0%
31.6%
68.4%
84.2%
84.2%
26.3%
57.9%
42.1%
47.4%
26.3%
63.2%
47.4%
50–59
34
24
1
3
19
25
25
7
27
15
22
12
26
18
70.6%
2.9%
8.8%
55.9%
73.5%
73.5%
20.6%
79.4%
44.1%
64.7%
35.3%
76.5%
52.9%
60–69
75
47
4
9
40
54
55
13
59
32
44
29
55
45
62.7%
5.3%
12.0%
53.3%
72.0%
73.3%
17.3%
78.7%
42.7%
58.7%
38.7%
73.3%
60.0%
70–79
163
102
5
20
95
119
122
30
135
74
92
71
128
83
62.6%
3.1%
12.3%
58.3%
73.0%
74.8%
18.4%
82.8%
45.4%
56.4%
43.6%
78.5%
50.9%
80–89
161
60
13
10
54
83
81
27
123
42
79
69
110
92
37.3%
8.1%
6.2%
33.5%
51.6%
50.3%
16.8%
76.4%
26.1%
49.1%
42.9%
68.3%
57.1%
≥90
28
5
3
0
7
11
11
1
25
3
12
11
21
17
17.9%
10.7%
0.0%
25.0%
39.3%
39.3%
3.6%
89.3%
10.7%
42.9%
39.3%
75.0%
60.7%
Advance directive?
Yes
57
17
5
5
18
31
30
1
50
11
32
24
39
32
29.8%
8.8%
8.8%
31.6%
54.4%
52.6%
1.8%
87.7%
19.3%
56.1%
42.1%
68.4%
56.1%
No
432
243
21
43
216
284
288
84
337
168
231
175
322
236
56.3%
4.9%
10.0%
50.0%
65.7%
66.7%
19.4%
78.0%
38.9%
53.5%
40.5%
74.5%
54.6%
Note: “n. expl. m.” refers to “not explicitly mentioned;” IV, invasive ventilation; NIV, noninvasive ventilation; RRT, renal replacement therapy; BPM, blood pressure measurement; CVL, central venous line; CPR, cardiopulmonary resuscitation; and DNR: do not resuscitate.
