title: Forgoing life support: how the decision is made in European pediatric intensive care units.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine how decisions to forgo life support are made in European pediatric intensive care units (PICUs).
  
  
  METHODS
  A multicenter, prospective study, the Eurydice II study, among 45 PICUs: 20 in France, 21 in Northern/Western (N/W) European countries, and 4 in Eastern/Central (E/C) Europe. Data were collected between November 2009 and April 2010 through a questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The decision to forgo life-sustaining treatment was made in 166 (40.6%) out of 409 deceased children (median 42.9%, France 38.2%, N/W European countries 60.0%, E/C European countries 0%; P < 0.001). In the E/C group, more patients died after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) failure than after forgoing life support (P < 0.001). In all PICUs, caregivers discussed the decision during a formal meeting, after which the medical staff made the final decision. The decision was often documented in the medical record (median 100%). The majority of the parents were informed of the final decision and were at the bedside during their child's death (median 100%). Decision to forgo life-sustaining treatment occurred in 40.6% of children, compared with 33% in Eurydice I. A high percentage of parents from France were now informed about the meeting and its conclusion as compared with Eurydice I (median 100%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study and comparison with the Eurydice I study (2002) show a trend towards standardization of end-of-life practices across N/W European countries and France in the past decade.
authors.affiliation: Réanimation Pédiatrique, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Département de recherche en éthique, Université Paris Sud 11, Hôpital de Bicêtre, 78 rue du Général Leclerc, 94275, Bicêtre, France. denis.devictor@bct.ap-hop-paris.fr
authors.forename: Denis J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Devictor
authors.forename: Jos M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Latour
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D003657:Decision Making; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D015278:Intensive Care Units, Pediatric; D008020:Life Support Care; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000639:trends; D028761:Withholding Treatment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*