title: Use of advance directives in the chronically critically ill.
abstract: Although it would be ideal that all patients have the presence of an advance directive documented in their medical chart, it is especially important in the chronically critically ill, a patient population with an in-hospital mortality rate of 40%. How has the documentation of advance directives in the medical chart of chronically critically ill patients changed from 1997 to 2003? This article describes the patient characteristics and patterns of death in chronically critically ill patients, with or without an advance directive, enrolled in 2 consecutive studies.
authors.affiliation: Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106-4904, USA. carol.kelley@case.edu
authors.forename: Carol G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Kelley
authors.forename: Amy R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Lipson
authors.forename: Barbara J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Daly
authors.forename: Sara L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Douglas
mesh_terms: D018806:APACHE; D032722:Advance Care Planning / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000401:mortality*; D016638:Critical Illness / Q000401:mortality*; D004282:Documentation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D008875:Middle Aged; D015146:Midwestern United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D024802:Nurse's Role; D012121:Respiration, Artificial / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015300:Ventilator Weaning / Q000706:statistics & numerical data