Ethical challenges in the care of patients with serious illness

Navigating end-of-life decision-making in nursing: a systematic review of ethical challenges and palliative care practices

OBJECTIVES

This systematic review aimed to synthesize evidence on the ethical dilemma's nurses encounter in end-of-life care and effective palliative care practices. The objectives were to understand key ethical issues, evaluate communication and decision-making strategies, and identify approaches to support nurses and patients.

METHODS

A comprehensive search of major databases was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. Studies directly relating to nursing ethics, challenges in end-of-life decision-making, and palliative care practices were included. The risk of bias was assessed using ROBVIS-II. Data on ethical issues, palliative interventions, and outcomes was extracted and analyzed thematically.

RESULTS

22 studies met the inclusion criteria. Key themes that emerged were: (1) Effective communication and involving patients in decision-making are essential but complex. (2) Nurses face dilemmas around balancing autonomy, beneficence and relational issues. (3) Integrating palliative care principles enhances symptom management and aligns care with patient values. (4) Education and organizational support are needed to equip nurses with skills and coping strategies.

CONCLUSION

Navigating end-of-life care requires addressing interconnected ethical, communication and support needs. While studies provided insights, further research is required on cultural competence training, standardized education programs and longitudinal evaluations.

Symptom Management and Supportive Care of Serious COVID-19 Patients and their Families in India

Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic is causing a worldwide humanitarian crisis. Old age, comorbid conditions, end-stage organ impairment, and advanced cancer, increase the risk of mortality in serious COVID-19. A subset of serious COVID-19 patients with serious acute respiratory illness may be triaged not to receive aggressive intensive care unit (ICU) treatment and ventilation or may be discontinued from ventilation due to their underlying conditions. Those not eligible for aggressive ICU measures should receive appropriate symptom management. Early warning scores (EWS), oxygen saturation, and respiratory rate, can facilitate categorizing COVID-19 patients as stable, unstable, and end of life. Breathlessness, delirium, respiratory secretions, and pain, are the key symptoms that need to be assessed and palliated. Palliative sedation measures are needed to manage intractable symptoms. Goals of care should be discussed, and advance care plan should be made in patients who are unlikely to benefit from aggressive ICU measures and ventilation. For patients who are already in an ICU, either ventilated or needing ventilation, a futility assessment is made. If there is a consensus on futility, a family meeting is conducted either virtually or face to face depending on the infection risk and infection control protocol. The family should be sensitively communicated about the futility of ICU measures and foregoing life-sustaining treatment. Family meeting outcomes are documented, and consent for foregoing life-sustaining treatment is obtained. Appropriate symptom management enables comfort at the end of life to all serious COVID-19 patients not receiving or not eligible to receive ICU measures and ventilation.

How to cite this article: Salins N, Mani RK, Gursahani R, Simha S, Bhatnagar S. Symptom Management and Supportive Care of Serious COVID-19 Patients and their Families in India. Indian J Crit Care Med 2020;24(6):435–444.

Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial of haloperidol plus promethazine plus chlorpromazine versus haloperidol plus promethazine for rapid tranquilisation for agitated psychiatric patients in the emergency setting (TREC-Lebanon)

Background: Agitated and aggressive behaviours are common in the psychiatric setting and rapid tranquilisation is sometimes unavoidable. A survey of Lebanese practice has shown that an intramuscular haloperidol, promethazine and chlorpromazine combination is a preferred form of treatment but there are no randomised trials of this triple therapy. Methods: This is a pragmatic randomised trial. Setting - the psychiatric wards of the Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross, Jal Eddib, Lebanon. Participants - any adult patient in the hospital who displays an aggressive episode for whom rapid tranquilisation is unavoidable, who has not been randomised before, for whom there are no known contraindications. Randomisation - stratified (by ward) randomisation and concealed in closed opaque envelope by independent parties. Procedure - if the clinical situation arises requiring rapid tranquilisation, medical residents overseeing the patient will open a TREC-Lebanon envelope in which will be notification of which group of treatments should be preferred [Haloperidol + Promethazine + Chlorpromazine (HPC) or Haloperidol + Promethazine (HP)], along with forms for primary, secondary and serious adverse effects. Treatment is not given blindly. Outcome - primary outcome is calm or tranquil at 20 minutes post intervention. Secondary outcomes are calm/tranquil at 40, 60 and 120 minutes post intervention, asleep, adverse effects, use of straitjacket and leaving the ward. Follow-up will be up to two weeks post randomisation. Discussion: Findings from this study will compare the HPC versus HP combination used in Lebanon's psychiatry emergency routine practice. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03639558. Registration date, August 21, 2018.

A Qualitative Analysis of Ethical Problems Experienced by Physicians and Nurses in Intensive Care Units in Turkey

In this qualitative study, we aimed to identify and compare the ethical problems perceived by physicians and nurses in intensive care units at Baskent University hospitals in Turkey. A total of 21 physicians and 22 nurses were asked to describe ethical problems that they frequently encounter in their practice. The data were analyzed using an interactive model. The core problem for both physicians and nurses was end-of-life decisions (first level). In this category, physicians were most frequently concerned with euthanasia while nurses were more concerned with do-not-resuscitate orders (second level). At the third level, we saw that almost all of the participants’ responses related to negative perceptions about euthanasia. Communication and hierarchical problems were the second most reported main category. Nurses were more likely to cite problems with hierarchy than physicians. At the third level, a large percentage of nurses described communication problems with authority and hierarchical problems with physicians. In the same category, physicians were most often concerned with communication problems with patients’ relatives. The ethical problems were reported at different frequencies by physicians and nurses. We asked the participants about ethical decision-making styles. The results show that nurses and physicians do not follow a systematic pattern of ethical decision making.

Palliative care outcomes in surgical oncology patients with advanced malignancies: a mixed methods approach

PURPOSE

To prospectively compare outcomes and processes of hospital-based early palliative care with standard care in surgical oncology patients (N = 152).

METHODS

A randomized, mixed methods, longitudinal study evaluated the effectiveness of a hospital-based Pain and Palliative Care Service (PPCS). Interviews were conducted presurgically and at follow-up visits up to 1 year. Primary outcome measures included the Gracely Pain Intensity and Unpleasantness Scales and the Symptom Distress Scale. Qualitative interviews assessed social support, satisfaction with care, and communication with providers. Survival analysis methods explored factors related to treatment crossover and study discontinuation. Models for repeated measures within subjects over time explored treatment and covariate effects on patient-reported pain and symptom distress.

RESULTS

None of the estimated differences achieved statistical significance; however, for those who remained on study for 12 months, the PPCS group performed better than their standard of care counterparts. Patients identified consistent communication, emotional support, and pain and symptom management as positive contributions delivered by the PPCS.

CONCLUSIONS

It is unclear whether lower pain perceptions despite greater symptom distress were clinically meaningful; however, when coupled with the patients' perceptions of their increased resources and alternatives for pain control, one begins to see the value of an integrated PPCS.

Code status orders and goals of care in the medical ICU

BACKGROUND

Decisions about CPR in the medical ICU (MICU) are important. However, discussions about CPR (code status discussions) can be challenging and may be incomplete if they do not address goals of care.

METHODS

We interviewed 100 patients, or their surrogates, and their physicians in an MICU. We queried the patients/surrogates on their knowledge of CPR, code status preferences, and goals of care; we queried MICU physicians about goals of care and treatment plans. Medical records were reviewed for clinical information and code status orders.

RESULTS

Fifty patients/surrogates recalled discussing CPR preferences with a physician, and 51 recalled discussing goals of care. Eighty-three patients/surrogates preferred full code status, but only four could identify the three main components of in-hospital CPR (defibrillation, chest compressions, intubation). There were 16 discrepancies between code status preferences expressed during the interview and code status orders in the medical record. Respondents' average prediction of survival following in-hospital cardiac arrest with CPR was 71.8%, and the higher the prediction of survival, the greater the frequency of preference for full code status (P = .012). Of six possible goals of care, approximately five were affirmed by each patient/surrogate and physician, but 67.7% of patients/surrogates differed with their physicians about the most important goal of care.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients in the MICU and their surrogates have inadequate knowledge about in-hospital CPR and its likelihood of success, patients' code status preferences may not always be reflected in code status orders, and assessments may differ between patients/surrogates and physicians about what goal of care is most important.

Goals of Care among Hospitalized Patients: A Validation Study

Our objective was to validate 6 literature-derived goals of care by analyzing open-ended and closed-ended responses about goals of care from a previous study of hospitalized patients. Eight clinicians categorized patients’ open-ended articulations of their goals of care using a literature-derived framework and then compared those categorizations to patients’ own closed-ended selections of their most important goal of care. Clinicians successfully categorized patients’ open-ended responses using the literature-derived framework 83.5% of the time, and their categorizations matched patients’ closed-ended most important goal of care 87.8% of the time. Goals that did not fit within the literature-derived framework all pertained to the goal of understanding a patient’s diagnosis or prognosis; this seventh potential goal can be added to the literature-derived framework of 6 goals of care.

Loving your child to death: Considerations of the care of chronically ill children and euthanasia in Emil Sher's Mourning Dove

How do parents cope when their child is ill or dying, and when he or she is experiencing constant pain or suffering? What do parents think of the contributions that medical professionals make to the care of their chronically or terminally ill child? Is it possible for a parent to love a child so much that they wish their child to be dead? The purpose of the present paper is to explore these questions and aspects of the care of chronically or terminally ill children using Mourning Dove's portrayal of one family's attempt to care for their ill daughter. Mourning Dove, a play written by Canadian playwright Emil Sher, was inspired by the case of Saskatchewan wheat farmer Robert Latimer who killed his 12-year-old daughter, Tracy, who suffered with cerebral palsy and had begun to experience tremendous pain. Rather than focusing on the medical or legal aspects of the care of a chronically ill child, the play offers a glimpse into how a family copes with the care of such a child and the effect the child's illness has on the family. The reading and examination of nonmedical literature, such as Mourning Dove, serves as a useful means for medical professionals to better understand how illness affects and is responded to by patients and their families. This understanding is a prerequisite for them to be able to provide complete care of children with chronic or terminal illnesses and their families.

Review Article: Goals of Care Toward the End of Life: A Structured Literature Review

Goals of care are often mentioned as an important component of end-of-life discussions, but there are diverse assessments regarding the type and number of goals that should be considered. To address this lack of consensus, we searched MEDLINE (1967—2007) for relevant articles and identified the number, phrasing, and type of goals they addressed. An iterative process of categorization resulted in a list of 6 practical, comprehensive goals: (1) be cured, (2) live longer, (3) improve or maintain function/quality of life/ independence, (4) be comfortable, (5) achieve life goals, and (6) provide support for family/caregiver. These goals can be used to articulate goal-oriented frameworks to guide decision making toward the end of life and thereby harmonize patients' treatment choices with their values and medical conditions.

The psychiatric management of end-of-life pain and associated psychiatric comorbidity

Involvement by psychiatrists in the care of patients who are terminally ill has been limited historically; however, psychiatrists increasingly are participating in the care of these people who are facing the most challenging times of their lives. Pain management is considered to be an area of subspecialization for psychiatrists beyond their traditional role of being psychopharmacologists and psychotherapists. Biologically focused psychiatrists are able to address neuropsychiatric disorders, including pain and depression in the medically ill, and actively improve the quality of life for dying patients and their family members. This article provides a review of the recent literature that has addressed the involvement of psychiatrists in end-of-life care. Beginning with an example of the scientific aspects of cancer-related treatment from a patient's perspective, and into the major treatment considerations, this article addresses pain, its recognition, and management challenges when the end of life approaches. The prompt recognition of frequently overlooked and underestimated concomitant depressions, delirium, dementia, and other mental disorders is important for mental health specialists. The importance of psychiatric care for patients who are terminally ill and the role of psychiatrists in the phase of care also are discussed.