SCCM Guidelines for EOL Care in ICU

Background: Around 35% of Americans die in the hospital, and ≥20% die in the ICU. Of patients admitted to the ICU, anywhere from 10% to 20% will die there. Around 20% of ICU patients have goals that are not achievable, so that treatment plans may not correlate with possible beneficial outcomes. For those reasons, expert end-of-life (EOL) care is urgently needed in the ICU. Objective: To review current evidence-based literature and better understand EOL care in the ICU. Design:  Review of the 2008 American College of Critical Care Medicine’s Consensus Statement of guidelines for EOL care. Discussion: The Society of Critical Care Medicine expert panel formed a series of guideline questions, which were later simplified, reduced, and structured in the population, intervention, comparison, and outcome format. Literature review was performed from inception through 2024. Recommendations and suggestions were made and graded to use as guidelines. Suggestions included facilitation of shar more...