Table 7.
End-of-Life Characteristics
| Infants older than six days n = 326 n (%) or M (SD) | Infants younger than seven days n = 150 n (%) or M (SD) | All infants n = 476 n (%) or M (SD) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life-sustaining treatment discontinued | 262 (80.4) | 108 (72.0) | 370 (77.7) |
| Code activated at death | 53 (16.3) | 33 (22.0) | 86 (18.1) |
| Died in NICU | 295 (90.5) | 147 (98.0) | 442 (92.9) |
| Transferred before death | 29 (8.9) | 3 (2.0) | 32 (6.7) |
| Physician notea | 277 (85.0) | 127 (84.7) | 404 (85.1) |
| Physician note on date of death | 79 (24.2) | 65 (51.2) | 144 (35.6) |
| AND order | 182 (55.8) | 62 (41.3) | 244 (51.3) |
| Palliative care referral | 134 (41.1) | 32 (21.3) | 166 (34.9) |
| Date of physician note (days before death) | 13.1 (32.2) | 0.98 (1.3) | 9.3 (27.3) |
| Date of AND order (days before death) | 8.2 (26.7) | 0.6 (0.7) | 6.3 (23.3) |
| Date of palliative care referral (days after admission) | 41.2 (81.4) | 1.5 (1.3) | 33.4 (74.6) |
| Date of palliative care referral (days before death) | 32.8 (63.9) | 1.5 (1.3) | 26.6 (58.7) |
a
Physician note = a physician documented that further treatment may not have benefit. These documentations appeared in note templates that are specifically designed to accompany Do Not Resuscitate and AND orders.
AND, allow natural death; NICU, neonatal intensive care unit.