Slippery slopes in flat countries--a response.
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In response to the paper by Keown and Jochemsen in which the latest empirical data concerning euthanasia and other end-of-life decisions in the Netherlands is discussed, this paper discusses three points. The use of euthanasia in cases in which palliative care was a viable alternative may be taken as proof of a slippery slope. However, it could also be interpreted as an indication of a shift towards more autonomy-based end-of-life decisions. The cases of non-voluntary euthanasia are a serious problem in the Netherlands and they are only rarely justifiable. However, they do not prove the existence of a slippery slope. Persuading the physician to bring euthanasia cases to the knowledge of the authorities is a problem of any euthanasia policy. The Dutch notification procedure has recently been changed to reduce the underreporting of cases. However, many questions remain. (+info)
Conditions required for a law on active voluntary euthanasia: a survey of nurses' opinions in the Australian Capital Territory.
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OBJECTIVES: To ascertain which conditions nurses believe should be in a law allowing active voluntary euthanasia (AVE). DESIGN: Survey questionnaire posted to registered nurses (RNs). SETTING: Australian Capital Territory (ACT) at the end of 1996, when active voluntary euthanasia was legal in the Northern Territory. SURVEY SAMPLE: A random sample of 2,000 RNs, representing 54 per cent of the RN population in the ACT. MAIN MEASURES: Two methods were used to look at nurses' opinions. The first involved four vignettes which varied in terms of critical characteristics of each patient who was requesting help to die. The respondents were asked if the law should be changed to allow any of these requests. There was also a checklist of conditions, most of which have commonly been included in Australian proposed laws on AVE. The respondents chose those which they believed should apply in a law on AVE. RESULTS: The response rate was 61%. Support for a change in the law to allow AVE was 38% for a young man with AIDS, 39% for an elderly man with early stage Alzheimer's disease, 44% for a young woman who had become quadriplegic and 71% for a middle-aged woman with metastases from breast cancer. The conditions most strongly supported in any future AVE law were: "second doctor's opinion", "cooling off period", "unbearable protracted suffering", "patient fully informed about illness and treatment" and "terminally ill". There was only minority support for "not suffering from treatable depression", "administer the fatal dose themselves" and "over a certain age". CONCLUSION: Given the lack of support for some conditions included in proposed AVE laws, there needs to be further debate about the conditions required in any future AVE bills. (+info)
Use of resources and costs of palliative care with parenteral fluids and analgesics in the home setting for patients with end-stage cancer.
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BACKGROUND: In 1992 a home care technology project was started in which infusion therapy in the home setting was made available for patients with end-stage cancer. Beside aspects of feasibility and quality of life the resource utilization and costs of this transition was studied. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a cost evaluation study, to determine the actual cost of managing patients with endstage cancer who require parenteral administration of fluid or analgesics in the home setting. A total of 128 patients were prospectively followed, with a detailed analysis of some aspects in a sample of 24 patients. RESULTS: The cost for each patient was found to be between $250.00 and $300.00 per day, half of which are for hospital charges, even with this active home care technology program. One-third of the costs can be attributed to primary health care activities, in particular those of the district nurses. A hypothetical control group (n = 25) was constructed based on current practice and chart review. Patients in this group would have cost around $750.00 per day. With a median treatment period of 16 days this means a saving of $8000.00 per patient. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that significant savings can be obtained by implementing programs transferring palliative care technology to the home setting. (+info)
The timing of do-not-resuscitate orders and hospital costs.
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The relation between the timing of do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders and the cost of medical care is not well understood. This prospective observational study compares hospital costs and length of stay of 265 terminally ill patients with admission DNR orders, delayed DNR orders (occurring after 24 hours), or no DNR orders (full code). Patients whose orders remained full code throughout a hospital stay had similar lengths of stay, total hospital costs, and daily costs as patients with admission DNR orders. Patients with delayed DNR orders, by contrast, had a greater mortality, longer length of stay, and higher total costs than full code or admission DNR patients, but similar daily costs. The causes of delay in DNR orders and the associated higher costs are a matter for future research. (+info)
Do social factors affect where patients die: an analysis of 10 years of cancer deaths in England.
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BACKGROUND: This study investigated whether indices of social deprivation were related to the proportion of cancer patients who died at home. METHODS: Data were derived from death registrations for all cancer deaths 1985-1994 in England. Two indices of deprivation (Underprivileged Area Score (UPA), or Jarman, and Townsend scores) were calculated for each electoral ward; 1991 Census data were used. The scores use combinations of variables, including the percentage in overcrowded homes, the percentage of elderly people living alone, the percentage of one-parent families, etc. A high score indicates more deprivation. The main outcome measures were the proportion (in five and ten year averages) of cancer deaths which occurred at home, calculated for every electoral ward (with populations usually ranging from 5000 to 11,000). Spearman rho was used to test for correlations between the proportion of cancer deaths at home and deprivation score. Electoral wards were categorized by deprivation score into three groups of equal size and analysed over 10 years. Multivariate analysis was used to determine the relative association of different patient based and electoral ward variables with cancer death at home. p < 0.05 (two-tailed) was taken as significant. RESULTS: There were over 1.3 million death registrations from cancer in the 10 years. The proportion who died at home was 0.27, in hospital 0.47, and other setting 0.26. There were wide variations (0.05-0.75) in the proportion of people who died at home in different electoral wards. Small inverse correlations were found between the percentage who died at home and the UPA (-0.35; p < 0.001) and Townsend (-0.26; p < 0.001) scores. The correlations were greatest in North Thames (-0.63, UPA) and smallest in West Midlands (-0.20, UPA). The proportion of home deaths for the different bands of deprivation were: 0.30 (low deprivation), 0.27 (middle deprivation) and 0.24 (high deprivation). Plotting the trends over 10 years suggests no change in this relationship. Multiple regression analysis predicted several ward and patient characteristics and accounted for 30 per cent of the variation. Increased age (patient variable), Jarman score and ethnic minorities (both ward variables) were associated with fewer patients dying at home. Being male and having cancer of the digestive organs were associated with home death. CONCLUSION: There are wide variations in the percentage of cancer deaths at home in different electoral wards. Social factors are inversely correlated with home cancer death, and may explain part of this variation. Home care in deprived areas may be especially difficult to achieve. (+info)
Abandonment of terminally ill patients in the Byzantine era. An ancient tradition?
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Our research on the texts of the Byzantine historians and chroniclers revealed an apparently curious phenomenon, namely, the abandonment of terminally ill emperors by their physicians when the latter realised that they could not offer any further treatment. This attitude tallies with the mentality of the ancient Greek physicians, who even in Hippocratic times thought the treatment and care of the terminally ill to be a challenge to nature and hubris to the gods. Nevertheless, it is a very curious attitude in the light of the concepts of the Christian Byzantine physicians who, according to the doctrines of the Christian religion, should have been imbued with the spirit of philanthropy and love for their fellowmen. The meticulous analysis of three examples of abandonment of Byzantine emperors, and especially that of Alexius I Comnenus, by their physicians reveals that this custom, following ancient pagan ethics, in those times took on a ritualised form without any significant or real content. (+info)
The status of the do-not-resuscitate order in Chinese clinical trial patients in a cancer centre.
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OBJECTIVE: To report and analyse the pattern of end-of-life decision making for terminal Chinese cancer patients. DESIGN: Retrospective descriptive study. SETTING: A cancer clinical trials unit in a large teaching hospital. PATIENTS: From April 1992 to August 1997, 177 consecutive deaths of cancer clinical trial patients were studied. MAIN MEASUREMENT: Basic demographic data, patient status at the time of signing a DNR consent, or at the moment of returning home to die are documented, and circumstances surrounding these events evaluated. RESULTS: DNR orders were written for 64.4% of patients. Patients in pain (odds ratio 0.45, 95% CI 0.22-0.89), especially if requiring opioid analgesia (odds ratio 0.40, 95% CI 0.21-0.77), were factors associated with a higher probability of such an order. Thirty-five patients were taken home to die, a more likely occurrence if the patient was over 75 years (odds ratio 0.12, 95% CI 0.04-0.34), had children (odds ratio 0.14, 95% CI 0.02-0.79), had Taiwanese as a first language (odds ratio 6.74, 95% CI 3.04-14.93), or was unable to intake orally (odds ratio 2.73, 95% CI 1.26-5.92). CPR was performed in 30 patients, none survived to discharge. CONCLUSIONS: DNR orders are instituted in a large proportion of dying Chinese cancer patients in a cancer centre, however, the order is seldom signed by the patient personally. This study also illustrates that as many as 20% of dying patients are taken home to die, in accordance with local custom. (+info)
Edmonton Regional Palliative Care Program: impact on patterns of terminal cancer care.
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The Edmonton Regional Palliative Care Program was established in July 1995 to measure the access of patients with terminal cancer to palliative care services, decrease the number of cancer-related deaths in acute care facilities and increase the participation of family physicians in the care of terminally ill patients. In this retrospective study the authors compared the pattern of care and site of deaths before establishment of the program (1992/93) and during its second year of operation (1996/97). Significantly more cancer-related deaths occurred in acute care facilities in 1992/93 than in 1996/97 (86% [1119/1304] v. 49% [633/1279]) (p < or = 0.001). The number of inpatient days decreased, from 24,566 in 1992/93 to 6960 in 1996/97. More cancer patients saw a palliative care consult team in 1996/97 than in 1992/93 (82% v. 22%). The shift from deaths in acute care facilities to palliative hospices suggests that the establishment of an integrated palliative care program has increased access of patients with terminal cancer to palliative care. (+info)