The characteristic of decision making withdrawal or withholding in patients who were expired according to The Hospice, palliative Care, and Life-sustaining treatment decision-making Act = The characteristic of decision making withdrawal or withholding in patients who were expired according to The Hospice, palliative Care, and Life-sustaining treatment decision-making Act

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Introduction: The Hospice, palliative Care, and Life-sustaining treatment decision-making Act was come into force in February 2018 in Korea. We reviewed the characteristics of patients who withdraw or withhold life-sustaining treatment in tertiary care hospital.
Methods: Retrospective data were analyzed for the period from February to August 2018. We review patients who had expired according to The Hospice, palliative Care, and Life-sustaining treatment decision-making Act. Included were 33 patients who had made a decision to withdraw or withhold life-sustaining treatment. 9 patients were discharged after filling in the Physician Orders for Life-sustaining Treatment (POLST). Another 24 patients were expired as withdrawal or withholding life-sustaining treatment.
Result: 14 of 24 patients had the end stage of disease. Last of them were critically ill patient who were finally judged ‘the last days of life’ for dying patient care. Patient who had preexisting POST were 6. One Patient had advanced directive. Life-sustaining decision making for another 17 patients were made by their family members. 9 decisions by presumption of patients’ living will and 8 decisions by agreement of all family members. Only 4 patients were expired according to withhold the life-sustaining treatment. Others were expired according to withdrawal life-sustaining treatment.
Conclusion: Patients who were expired according to The Hospice, palliative Care, and Life-sustaining treatment decision-making Act were expired by withdrawal life-sustaining treatment. The decision were made by family members.