Table 2.
Reporting of euthanasia according to characteristics of physician and patient, time by which life was shortened, and labelling of the end of life decision*
| All cases (n=137; weighted n)† | Cases reported to review committee (n=72) | P value‡ | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weighted n | Weighted percentage of cases (95% CI) | |||
| Physician characteristic | ||||
| Type of physician | ||||
| General practitioner | 80 | 43 | 53.8 (41.5 to 65.4) | 0.863 |
| Specialist | 56 | 29 | 51.8 (34.3 to 69.1) | |
| Patient characteristic | ||||
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 83 | 43 | 51.8 (38.3 to 64.9) | 0.727 |
| Female | 54 | 30 | 55.6 (39.3 to 70.0) | |
| Age | ||||
| 18-49 | 12 | 8 | 66.7 (31.7 to 90.0) | 0.001§ |
| 50-64 | 37 | 23 | 62.2 (42.2 to 77.8) | |
| 65-79 | 60 | 36 | 60.0 (45.3 to 72.8) | |
| ≥80 | 28 | 6 | 21.4 (9.1 to 40.4) | |
| Educational attainment | ||||
| Primary school | 20 | 7 | 35.0 (13.1 to 64.4) | 0.309 |
| Lower secondary school | 40 | 24 | 60.0 (41.2 to 75.8) | |
| Higher secondary school or higher | 37 | 21 | 58.8 (37.5 to 75.0) | |
| Unknown | 41 | 21 | 51.2 (35.1 to 67.9) | |
| Living situation | ||||
| Alone | 24 | 15 | 62.5 (40.6 to 80.5) | 0.432 |
| In private household | 98 | 50 | 51.0 (39.1 to 63.0) | |
| In institution | 10 | 4 | 40.0 (9.9 to 83.3) | |
| Place of death | ||||
| Home | 66 | 37 | 56.1 (43.3 to 68.3) | 0.874 |
| Hospital | 59 | 30 | 50.8 (34.1 to 67.6) | |
| Care home | 5 | 2 | 40.0 (13.3 to 77.8) | |
| Other | 6 | 3 | 50.0 (7.6 to 91.4) | |
| Diagnosis | ||||
| Malignant disease | 111 | 58 | 52.3 (42.3 to 61.9) | 0.002§ |
| Cardiovascular disease | 5 | 0 | 0.0 (0.0 to 0.0) | |
| Disease of the nervous system | 7 | 6 | 85.7 (34.3 to 98.1) | |
| Disease of the respiratory system | 6 | 2 | 33.3 (4.5 to 85.9) | |
| Other disease | 5 | 5 | 100.0 (100 to 100) | |
| Shortening of life | ||||
| <24 hours | 13 | 2 | 15.4 (4.8 to 40.1) | <0.001§ |
| 1-7 days | 60 | 25 | 41.7 (27.6 to 57.5) | |
| 1-4 weeks | 35 | 21 | 60.0 (35.1 to 80.5) | |
| 1-6 months | 16 | 16 | 100.0 (100 to 100) | |
| >6 months | 6 | 5 | 83.3 (44.0 to 98.8) | |
| Labelling of the end of life decision | ||||
| Euthanasia | 72 | 67 | 93.1 (85.1 to 96.6) | <0.001§ |
| Palliative or terminal sedation | 48 | 2 | 6.3 (1.5 to 21.6) | |
| Non-treatment decision | 8 | 2 | 25.0 (1.8 to 78.6) | |
| Alleviation of symptoms | 8 | 0 | 0.0 (0.0 to 30.1) | |
*Percentages are row percentages. All percentages and total numbers are adjusted for stratification, and to patient/mortality characteristics of all deaths in 2007, which makes the percentages representative for all deaths in Flanders in 2007. Total numbers may not always amount to 137 because of rounding or missing values on variables. Percentages may not always amount to 100 because of rounding.
†One case was missing data on the variable “reporting of end of life decision.”
‡P value for reported cases versus cases not reported.
§P<0.05 using Fisher’s Exact (Monte Carlo).