• Jan Adamski, Wojciech Weigl, Tadeusz Musialowicz, Pasi Lahtinen, and Matti Reinikainen.
• Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Olsztyn, Poland.
• Acta Anaesthesiol Scand. 2022 Apr 1; 66 (4): 526-538.

BackgroundFew studies have examined the factors that predict the limitations of life-sustaining treatment (LST) to patients in intensive care units (ICUs). We aimed to identify variables associated with the decision of withholding of life support (WHLS) at admission, WHLS during ICU stay and the withdrawal of ongoing life support (WDLS).MethodsThis retrospective observational study comprised 17,772 adult ICU patients who were included in the nationwide Finnish ICU Registry in 2016. Factors associated with LST limitations were identified using hierarchical logistic regression.ResultsThe decision of WHLS at admission was made for 822 (4.6%) patients, WHLS during ICU stay for 949 (5.3%) patients, and WDLS for 669 (3.8%) patients. Factors strongly predicting WHLS at admission included old age (adjusted odds ratio [OR] for patients aged 90 years or older in reference to those younger than 40 years was 95.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 47.2-193.5), dependence on help for activities of daily living (OR, 3.55; 95% CI, 3.01-4.2), and metastatic cancer (OR, 4.34; 95% CI, 3.16-5.95). A high severity of illness predicted later decisions to limit LST. Diagnoses strongly associated with WHLS at admission were cardiac arrest, hepatic failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Later decisions were strongly associated with cardiac arrest, hepatic failure, non-traumatic intracranial hemorrhage, head trauma and stroke.ConclusionEarly decisions to limit LST were typically associated with old age and chronic poor health whereas later decisions were related to the severity of illness. Limitations are common for certain diagnoses, particularly cardiac arrest and hepatic failure.© 2022 The Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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