Prior capacity of patients lacking decision making ability early in hospitalization: implications for advance directive administration. The SUPPORT Investigators. Study to Understand Prognoses and Preferences for Outcomes and Risks of Treatments.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the appropriateness of hospitalization as the time to elicit patients' medical care preferences, the authors evaluated the capability of seriously ill patients to participate in decision making early in hospitalization and their decision making capacity two weeks before hospital entry.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study with retrospective evaluation of preadmission decision making capacity.


METHODS
Five acute care teaching hospitals.


METHODS
Four thousand three hundred one acutely ill hospitalized adults meeting predetermined severity of illness criteria in nine specific disease categories.


METHODS
Surrogate decision makers' estimates of the prior mental capacities of patients unable to be interviewed early in hospitalization about care preferences due to intubation, coma, or cognitive impairment. Comparison of the demographics, degrees of sickness at admission, and outcomes of interviewable vs noninterviewable patients.


RESULTS
Forty percent of the patients were not interviewable concerning preferences. Of these, 83% could have participated in treatment decisions two weeks prior to hospitalization. The patients who were not interviewable were more acutely ill, had less chronic disease, and were more likely to die during hospitalization than the interviewable patients.


CONCLUSIONS
Many acutely ill patients likely to die in the hospital lost their ability to make medical care decisions around the time of hospital admission. Preferences for care and advance directives should be discussed in the outpatient setting or very early in hospital admission.
Wenger
N S
NS
UCLA School of Medicine.
Oye
R K
RK
Bellamy
P E
PE
Lynn
J
J
Phillips
R S
RS
Desbiens
N A
NA
Kussin
P
P
Youngner
S J
SJ
D016223:Advance Directives / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D032882:Comprehension; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010358:Patient Participation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States