Table 3.
Demographics of the online survey respondents and their current practices and opinions on death declaration.
| Characteristics | Respondents† (n = 152) |
|---|---|
| Hospital bed capacity | |
| ≥ 1,000 beds | 54 (35.5) |
| 500–1,000 beds | 81 (53.3) |
| < 500 beds | 17 (11.2) |
| Hospital type | |
| Tertiary | 100 (65.8) |
| Secondary | 52 (34.2) |
| Hospital performing organ transplantation | |
| Yes | 128 (84.2) |
| No | 24 (15.8) |
| Specialties | |
| Internal medicine | 62 (40.8) |
| General surgery | 22 (14.5) |
| Anesthesiology | 18 (11.8) |
| Cardiothoracic surgery | 13 (8.6) |
| Neurosurgery | 13 (8.6) |
| Others | 24 (15.7) |
| Duration of service in specialty | |
| ≥10 years | 101 (66.4) |
| 5–10 years | 40 (26.3) |
| <5 years | 11 (7.2) |
| ICU attending physician | |
| Yes (critical care specialist) | 100 (65.8) |
| No (a trainee in critical care medicine) | 52 (34.2) |
| More than 10 death declarations within the last 1 year | |
| Yes | 84 (55.3) |
| No | 68 (44.7) |
| Number of parameters used for death declaration | |
| 1 parameter | 43 (28.3) |
| 2 parameters | 38 (25) |
| 3 parameters | 25 (16.4) |
| 4 parameters or more | 46 (30.3) |
| Use of ECG | |
| Yes | 147 (96.7) |
| No | 5 (3.3) |
| Use of pulse | |
| Yes | 103 (67.8) |
| No | 49 (32.2) |
| Use of respiratory rate | |
| Yes | 64 (42.1) |
| No | 88 (57.9) |
| Use of pupillary light reflex | |
| Yes | 56 (36.8) |
| No | 96 (63.2) |
| Use of SpO2 | |
| Yes | 24 (15.8) |
| No | 128 (84.2) |
| Time of death declaration | |
| Immediately after flat ECG | 63 (41.4) |
| 2 min after flat ECG | 40 (26.3) |
| 5 min after flat ECG | 30 (19.7) |
| 10 min after flat ECG | 10 (6.6) |
| Immediately after pulselessness | 1 (0.7) |
| 2 min after pulselessness | 1 (0.7) |
| 5 min after pulselessness | 3 (2) |
| 10 min after pulselessness | 4 (2.6) |
| 5-min no-touch period | |
| Agree | 90 (59.2) |
| Disagree | 62 (40.8) |
| Reason for disagreement | (n = 62) |
| 5 min is extremely long | 41 (66.1‡) |
| 5 min is not sufficiently long | 5 (8.1‡) |
| Need consideration for other physical situations | 5 (8.1‡) |
| Possible ethical issues | 5 (8.1‡) |
| Insufficient supporting evidence | 2 (3.2‡) |
| Other opinions | 4 (6.5‡) |
| Need for legislation | |
| Agree | 110 (72.4) |
| Disagree | 42 (27.6) |
ICU, intensive care unit; ECG, electrocardiogram; SpO2, peripheral capillary oxygen saturation.
† Values are presented as numbers (%)
‡ Values represent the percentage among the 62 physicians who disagreed