Decision-making ethics in regards to life-sustaining interventions: when physicians refer to what other patients decide.

Health decisions occur in a context with omnipresent social influences. Information concerning what other patients decide may present certain interventions as more desirable than others. To explore how physicians refer to what other people decide in conversations about the relevancy of cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or do-not-attempt-resuscitation orders (DNAR). We recorded forty-three physician-patient admission interviews taking place in a hospital in French-speaking Switzerland, during which CPR is discussed. Data was analysed with conversation analysis. Reference to what other people decide in regards to CPR is used five times, through reported speech. The reference is generic, and employed as a resource to deal with trouble encountered with the patient's preference, either because it is absent or potentially incompatible with the medical recommendation. In our data, it is a way for physicians to present decisional paths and to steer towards the relevancy of DNAR orders ("Patients tell us 'no futile care'"). By calling out to a sense of membership, it builds towards the patient embracing norms that are associated with a desirable or relevant social group. Introducing DNAR decisions in terms of what other people opt for is a way for physicians to bring up the eventuality of allowing natural death in a less overt way. Formulating treatment choices in terms of what other people do has implications in terms of supporting autonomous and informed decision making, since it nudges patients towards conformity with what is presented as the most preferable choice on the basis of social norms

Factors associated with quality of life in elderly hospitalised patients undergoing post-acute rehabilitation: a cross-sectional analytical study in Switzerland.

We investigated whether biopsychosocial and spiritual factors and satisfaction with care were associated with patients' perceived quality of life. This was a cross-sectional analytical study. Data were collected from inpatients at a postacute geriatric rehabilitation centre in a university hospital in Switzerland. Participants aged 65 years and over were consecutively recruited from October 2014 to January 2016. Exclusion criteria included significant cognitive disorder and terminal illness. Of 227 eligible participants, complete data were collected from 167. Perceived quality of life was measured using WHO Quality of Life Questionnaire-version for older people. Predictive factors were age, sex, functional status at admission, comorbidities, cognitive status, depressive symptoms, living conditions and satisfaction with care. A secondary focus was the association between spiritual needs and quality of life. Patients undergoing geriatric rehabilitation experienced a good quality of life. Greater quality of life was significantly associated with higher functional status (r <sub>s</sub> =0.204, p=0.011), better cognitive status (r <sub>s</sub> =0.175, p=0.029) and greater satisfaction with care (r <sub>s</sub> =0.264, p=0.003). Poorer quality of life was significantly associated with comorbidities (r <sub>s</sub> =-.226, p=0.033), greater depressive symptoms (r <sub>s</sub> =-.379, p<0.001) and unmet spiritual needs ( <i>r</i> <sub>s</sub> =-.211, p=0.049). Multivariate linear regression indicated that depressive symptoms (β=-0.961; 95% CIs -1.449 to 0.472; p<0.001) significantly predicted quality of life. Patient perceptions of quality of life were significantly associated with depression. More research is needed to assess whether considering quality of life could improve care plan creation

"If I Become a Vegetable, Then no": A Thematic Analysis of How Patients and Physicians Refer to Prognosis When Discussing Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation.

Background: Documenting decisions about the relevance cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a standard practice at hospital admission yet a complex task. Objective: Our aim was to explore how physicians approach and discuss CPR prognosis with older patients recently admitted to a post-acute care unit. Method: We recorded 43 conversations between physicians and patients about the relevancy of CPR that took place at admission at the geriatric rehabilitation service of a Swiss university hospital. Thematic analysis determined (i) who initiated the talk about CPR prognosis, (ii) at what point in the conversation, and (iii) how prognosis was referred to. Results: Prognosis was mentioned in 65% of the conversations. We categorized the content of references to CPR prognosis in five themes: factors determining the prognosis (general health, age, duration of maneuvers); life (association of CPR with life, survival); proximal adverse outcomes (broken ribs, intensive care); long-term adverse outcomes (loss of autonomy, suffering a stroke, pain, generic, uncertainty); and being a burden. Discussion and conclusion: Discussing CPR is important to all patients, including those for whom it is not recommended. Information about CPR prognosis is essential to empower and support patients in expressing their expectations from life-prolonging interventions and attain shared decision-making

Introducing "A Question That Might, Perhaps, Scare you": How Geriatric Physicians Approach the Discussion About Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation with Hospitalized Patients.

Decisions about the relevance of life-sustaining treatment, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), are commonly made when a patient is admitted to the hospital. This article aims to refine our understanding of how discussions about CPR are introduced, to identify and classify the components frequently occurring in these introductions, and discuss their implications within the overarching activity (discussing CPR). We recorded 43 discussions about CPR between physicians and patients, taking place during the admission interview. We applied an inductive qualitative content analysis and thematic analysis to all the encounter content from the launch of the conversation on CPR to the point at which the physician formulated a question or the patient an answer. We identified this part of the encounter as the "introduction." This systematic method allowed us to code the material, develop and assign themes and subthemes, and quantify it. We identified four major themes in the introductions: (i) agenda setting; (ii) circumstances leading to CPR (subthemes: types of circumstances, personal prognostics of cardiac arrest); (iii) the activity of addressing CPR with the patient (subthemes: routine, constrain, precedence, sensitivity); and (iv) mentioning advance directives. Our findings reveal the elaborate effort that physicians deploy by appealing to combinations of these themes to account for the need to launch conversations about CPR, and highlight how CPR emerges as a sensitive topic

Efficiency of the lausanne clinical pathway for proximal femoral fractures.

Purpose/Introduction: The number of hip fractures is rising, due to increases in life expectancy. In such cases, patients are at risk from post-operative complications and subsequently the average length of hospitalization may be extended. In 2011, we established a clinical pathway (CP), a specific model of care for patient-care management, to improve the clinical and economic outcomes of proximal femoral fracture management in elderly patients. The goal was to evaluate the CP using clinical, process, and financial indicators. METHODS: We included all surgical patients aged 65 and over, admitted to the emergency department with a fracture of the proximal femur following a fall. Assessment parameters included three performance indicators: clinical, process, and financial. The clinical indicators were the presence or absence of acute delirium on the third post-operative day, diagnosis of nosocomial pneumonia, and the number of patients fulfilling at least 75% of their nutritional requirements at the end of the hospitalization period. The process indicator was the time interval between arrival at the emergency department and surgery. The financial indicator was based on the number of days spent in hospital. RESULTS: From 2011 to 2013, 669 patients were included in the CP. We observed that the average length of stay in hospital decreased as soon as the CP was implemented and stabilized afterwards. The goal of 90% of patients undergoing surgery within 48 h of arrival in the emergency department was surpassed in 2013 (93.1%). Furthermore, we observed an improvement in the clinical indicators. CONCLUSION: The application of a CP allowed an improvement in the qualitative and quantitative efficiency of proximal femoral fracture management in elderly patients, in terms of clinical, process, and financial factors

Spectrum of digoxin-induced ocular toxicity: a case report and literature review

BACKGROUND: Digoxin intoxication results in predominantly digestive, cardiac and neurological symptoms. This case is outstanding in that the intoxication occurred in a nonagenarian and induced severe, extensively documented visual symptoms as well as dysphagia and proprioceptive illusions. Moreover, it went undiagnosed for a whole month despite close medical follow-up, illustrating the difficulty in recognizing drug-induced effects in a polymorbid patient. CASE PRESENTATION: Digoxin 0.25 mg qd for atrial fibrillation was prescribed to a 91-year-old woman with an estimated creatinine clearance of 18 ml/min. Over the following 2-3 weeks she developed nausea, vomiting and dysphagia, snowy and blurry vision, photopsia, dyschromatopsia, aggravated pre-existing formed visual hallucinations and proprioceptive illusions. She saw her family doctor twice and visited the eye clinic once until, 1 month after starting digoxin, she was admitted to the emergency room. Intoxication was confirmed by a serum digoxin level of 5.7 ng/ml (reference range 0.8-2 ng/ml). After stopping digoxin, general symptoms resolved in a few days, but visual complaints persisted. Examination by the ophthalmologist revealed decreased visual acuity in both eyes, 4/10 in the right eye (OD) and 5/10 in the left eye (OS), decreased color vision as demonstrated by a score of 1/13 in both eyes (OU) on Ishihara pseudoisochromatic plates, OS cataract, and dry age-related macular degeneration (ARMD). Computerized static perimetry showed non-specific diffuse alterations suggestive of either bilateral retinopathy or optic neuropathy. Full-field electroretinography (ERG) disclosed moderate diffuse rod and cone dysfunction and multifocal ERG revealed central loss of function OU. Visual symptoms progressively improved over the next 2 months, but multifocal ERG did not. The patient was finally discharged home after a 5 week hospital stay. CONCLUSION: This case is a reminder of a complication of digoxin treatment to be considered by any treating physician. If digoxin is prescribed in a vulnerable patient, close monitoring is mandatory. In general, when facing a new health problem in a polymorbid patient, it is crucial to elicit a complete history, with all recent drug changes and detailed complaints, and to include a drug adverse reaction in the differential diagnosis

Talking about chronic pain in family settings: a glimpse of older persons' everyday realities.

The expression of chronic pain remains a delicate matter for those older persons who suffer from this condition. If many studies highlight the difficulties of putting pain into words, scarce are those that take into account how given social networks can facilitate or prevent its expression. Based on a qualitative study that explores the communication about chronic pain in older persons' social network, this article reports on this key issue of talking about health in later life within family settings and provides clinicians with information about the way older persons with chronic conditions perceive their everyday realities and social relations. A multidisciplinary research team (medicine, linguistics and psychology) interviewed 49 persons with chronic pain, all from the French-speaking part of Switzerland, aged 75 and older, without any major cognitive or auditory impairments. After transcription, the interviews were analyzed by combining content and discourse analysis with social network theories. Communication about chronic pain depends significantly on the position of the interlocutors within the family structure, with a preference for direct relatives or individuals with similar difficulties. In social networks, the ability to communicate about chronic pain is both a resource (by allowing older persons to get help or by strengthening interpersonal relations) and a challenge (by threatening their autonomy, social relations or self-esteem). The study shows the predominance of the nuclear family (partner, children) in communication relating specifically to the everyday management of chronic pain. This state of affairs is, nevertheless, balanced by issues of (loss of) autonomy. These findings, in line with current trends in geriatrics, could benefit future reflections on the scope and limits of including relatives in the care of older patients with chronic conditions

Communication About Chronic Pain in Older Persons' Social Networks: Study Protocol of a Qualitative Approach.

A lack of social relations appears to impact on health and life expectancy among the older persons. The quality and diversity of social relations are correlated with good health and well-being in later life. Chronic pain is a crucial issue in aging population. Effective communication between the older persons with chronic pain, their relatives and the actors of the healthcare system facilitates the management of this condition. Studies on communication in later life generally do not consider the older persons' social network as a whole, focusing only a specific segment (e.g., family or medical staff). This lack of scientific data prevents the actors of the healthcare system from offering solutions to bridge clinically relevant communication gaps. As a consequence, our study has three objectives: (1) to identify how the older persons perceive communication about chronic pain with their social network; (2) to identify their unmet communication needs; (3) to develop recommendations that improve communication about chronic pain in later life. The study will be divided into two phases. The first phase will meet objectives 1 and 2. It will involve individual interviews with about 50 people over 75 years old suffering from chronic pain and without major cognitive or auditory troubles. In this phase, we will apply a multi-layered analysis. We will map the older persons' personal network and identify their communication practices and needs, by combining content and discourse analysis with social network theories. The second phase of the study will aim at recommendations based on the results of the first phase (objective 3). It will require focus groups with different sets of stakeholders (older persons, relative caregivers, health professionals, decision-makers). In the second phase, we will use content analysis to pinpoint the concerns and suggestions for action. The results will be disseminated on three levels: (1) to the scientific world (specialists in the field of health and aging and health communication); (2) to health practitioners working with older persons; (3) to society at large, with a focus on institutions and groups directly concerned by the issue

Advance care planning dispositions: the relationship between knowledge and perception.

Legal dispositions for advance care planning (ACP) are available but used by a minority of older adults in Switzerland. Some studies found that knowledge of and perception of those dispositions are positively associated with their higher usage. The objective of the present study is to test the hypothesis of an association between increased knowledge of ACP dispositions and a more positive perception of them. Data collected in 2014 among 2125 Swiss community-dwellers aged 71 to 80 of the Lausanne cohort 65+ (Lc65+), a population-based longitudinal study on aging and frailty. Data collection was conducted through a questionnaire on knowledge, use and perception of lasting power of attorney, advance directives and designation of a health care proxy. Covariables were extracted from the Lc65+ database. Bivariable and multivariable regression analyses assessed the association between level of knowledge and perception. Half the participants did not know about legal dispositions for ACP; filing rates were 14% for advance directives, 11% for health care proxy and 6% for lasting power of attorney. Level of knowledge about the dispositions was associated with a more positive perception of them, even when adjusting for confounding factors. Although the direction of the association's causality needs more investigation, results indicate that better knowledge on ACP dispositions could improve the perception older people have of them. Communication on dispositions should take into account individual knowledge levels and address commonly enunciated barriers that seem to diminish with increased knowledge