Table 3 Prognosis of infants who died, and circumstances of withdrawal of life sustaining treatment.
| Epoch 1 (n = 132) | Epoch 2 (n = 111) | |
|---|---|---|
| Category I | 31 (23.5) | 22 (19.8) |
| Category II | 101 (76.5) | 89 (80.2) |
| Death likely (percentage of category II) | 42 (41.6) | 66 (74.2)† |
| Death unlikely (percentage of category II) | 17 (16.8) | 4 (4.5)† |
| Death uncertain (percentage of category II) | 42 (41.6) | 19 (21.3)† |
| Sedative/analgesic use* | 58 (66) | 76 (85) |
| Age at time of withdrawal (days)‡ | 10.4 (1–121) | 24.3 (1–226) |
Number in parentheses is percentage of total unless otherwise specified. NB data not available on drug use and age at withdrawal for all of the category II patients in epoch 1 (n = 88).
*Use of sedative or analgesic drugs (opioids, benzodiazepines, barbiturates) at, or subsequent to, the time of treatment withdrawal. Percentage is of total number of patients who had potentially life sustaining treatment withdrawn.
†Comparison of three subgroups of category II, p<0.001 (Pearson χ2 test).
‡Values are mean (range).