End of life decisions in immunocompromised patients with acute respiratory failure

Gaston Burghi (1) , Victoria Metaxa (2) , Peter Pickkers (3) , Marcio Soares (1) , Jordi Rello (4) , Philippe Bauer (5) , Andry van de Louw (6) , Fabio Silvio Taccone (7) , Ignacio Martin Loeches (8) , Peter Schellongowski (9) , Katerina Rusinova (10) , Massimo Antonelli (11) , Achille Kouatchet (12) , Andreas Barratt-Due (13) , Miia Valkonen (14) , Frédéric Pène (15, 16) , Djamel Mokart (17) , Samir Jaber (18, 19) , Elie Azoulay (20, 21) , Audrey de Jong (18, 19)

1 Universidad de Montevideo
2 UCLH - University College London Hospitals
3 Radboud University Medical Center [Nijmegen]
4 UAB - Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona = Autonomous University of Barcelona = Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona
5 Mayo Clinic [Rochester]
6 Penn State - Pennsylvania State University
7 ULB - Université libre de Bruxelles
8 St James's University Hospital
9 Medizinische Universität Wien = Medical University of Vienna
10 Medicine Charles University and General Faculty Hospital in Prague
11 Unicatt - Università cattolica del Sacro Cuore = Catholic University of the Sacred Heart [Roma]
12 CHU Angers - Centre Hospitalier Universitaire d'Angers
13 Oslo University Hospital [Oslo]
14 HUS - Helsinki University Hospital [Finland]
15 Hôpital Cochin [AP-HP]
16 UPD5 - Université Paris Descartes - Paris 5
17 IPC - Institut Paoli-Calmettes
18 PhyMedExp - Physiologie & médecine expérimentale du Cœur et des Muscles [U 1046]
19 CHRU Montpellier - Hôpital Saint Eloi
20 AP-HP - Hopital Saint-Louis [AP-HP]
21 Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France

Purpose: To identify patient, disease and organizational factors associated with decisions to forgo life-sustaining therapies (DFLSTs) in critically ill immunocompromised patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) for acute respiratory failure.Material and methods: We performed a secondary analysis of the international EFRAIM prospective study, which enrolled 1611 immunocompromised patients with acute respiratory failure admitted to 68 ICUs in 16 countries between October 2015 and June 2016. Multivariate logistic analysis was performed to identify independent predictors of DFLSTs.Results: The main causes of immunosuppression were hematological malignancies (50%) and solid tumor (38%). Patients had a median age of 63 yo (54–71). A pulmonologist was involved in the patient management in 38% of cases. DFLSTs had been implemented in 28% of the patients. The following variables were independently associated with DFLSTs: 1) patient-related: older age (OR 1.02 per one year increase, 95% confidence interval(CI) 1.01–1.03,P < 0.001), poor performance status (OR 2.79, 95% CI 1.98–3.93, P < 0.001); 2) disease-related: shock (OR 2.00, 95% CI 1.45–2.75, P < 0.001), liver failure (OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.14–2.21, P = 0.006), invasive mechanical ventilation (OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.31–2.46, P < 0.001); 3) organizational: having a pulmonologist involved in patient management (OR 1.85, 95% CI 1.36–2.52, P < 0.001), and the presence of a critical care outreach services (OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.11–2.38, P = 0.012).Conclusions: A DFLST is made in one in four immunocompromised patient admitted to the ICU for acute respiratory failure. Involving a pulmonologist in patient's management is associated with less non beneficial care.

Keywords: Decisions to forgo life-sustaining therapies; Hematological malignancies; Transplantation; Systemic diseases; Pneumocystis

Domains: Pulmonology and respiratory tract; Santé publique et épidémiologie

Gaston Burghi, Victoria Metaxa, Peter Pickkers, Marcio Soares, Jordi Rello, et al.. End of life decisions in immunocompromised patients with acute respiratory failure. Journal of Critical Care, 2022, 72, pp.154152. ⟨10.1016/j.jcrc.2022.154152⟩. ⟨hal-03784943⟩