End-of-life issues and spiritual histories.
BACKGROUND
Patients facing end-of-life issues have spiritual concerns that may have an impact on their medical decision-making.


METHODS
To determine whether physicians address spiritual concerns in this context, we reviewed the charts of 92 elderly hospitalized patients facing decisions regarding resuscitation status or feeding tube placement.


RESULTS
The average age of the participants was 72.4 years and 51% of them were female. Only 6.5% of the patients had spiritual histories documented in their charts; 29% had either a spiritual history or some mention of chaplain or psychiatrist involvement.


CONCLUSIONS
Spiritual concerns of many patients facing end-of-life decisions are not being addressed.
King
Dana E
DE
Department of Family Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29406, USA. kingde@musc.edu
Wells
Brian J
BJ
D000368:Aged; D002604:Chaplaincy Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D010819:Physician's Role; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D016414:Resuscitation Orders; D012189:Retrospective Studies