TABLE 1 ] .
Characteristics of Study Cohort
| Patient Characteristic | All Subjects (N = 607) | Patients With a Family Questionnaire Response (n = 307) |
| Age at time of death, y | 63.4 (SD, 17.7) | 65.1 (SD, 17.1) |
| Female | 229 (37.7) | 129 (42.0) |
| Race/ethnicity | ||
| White | 502 (82.7) | 268 (87.3) |
| Black | 33 (5.4) | 13 (4.2) |
| Asian | 43 (7.1) | 15 (4.9) |
| Hispanic | 16 (2.6) | 5 (1.6) |
| Other | 13 (2.1) | 6 (2.0) |
| Level of education (n = 578) | ||
| < Eighth grade | 47 (8.1) | 22 (7.3) |
| Some high school | 64 (11.1) | 24 (8.0) |
| High school/GED | 228 (39.4) | 115 (38.2) |
| Some college | 135 (23.4) | 77 (25.6) |
| 4 y college | 73 (12.6) | 47 (15.6) |
| Graduate level | 31 (5.4) | 16 (5.3) |
| Median income of zip code, 1,000 US$ | 46.1 (SD, 12.2) | 47.2 (SD, 11.7) |
| Per capita income of zip code, 1,000 US$ | 24.4 (SD, 7.2) | 24.3 (SD, 7.2) |
| Hospital | ||
| Hospital 1 | 506 (83.4) | 243 (79.2) |
| Hospital 2 | 101 (16.6) | 64 (20.8) |
| ICU length of stay, median (IQR), d | 3 (1, 8) | 4 (1, 9) |
| Hospital length of stay, median (IQR), d | 4 (2, 10) | 5 (2, 11) |
| Diagnosisa | ||
| Heart disease | 43 (7.1) | 26 (8.5) |
| HIV/infection | 68 (11.2) | 30 (9.8) |
| Respiratory | 51 (8.4) | 25 (8.1) |
| GI/liver | 31 (5.1) | 23 (7.5) |
| Stroke/neurologic | 135 (22.2) | 76 (24.8) |
| Trauma | 59 (9.7) | 33 (10.7) |
| Cancer | 8 (1.3) | 3 (1.0) |
| Unknown/other | 212 (34.9) | 91 (29.6) |
| Cause of deathb | ||
| Trauma | 172 (28.3) | 84 (27.4) |
| Cancer | 37 (6.1) | 19 (6.2) |
| Other | 398 (65.6) | 204 (66.4) |
| Intubated in last wk of life | 528 (87.1) | 256 (83.4) |
| In ICU at time of death | 506 (83.4) | 243 (79.2) |
| Died in setting of full support | 128 (21.1) | 58 (18.9) |
| Documentation of a living will prior to admitc | 154 (42.0) | 97 (47.6) |
| Type of insurance | ||
| Private | 113 (18.6) | 65 (21.2) |
| Medicare | 324 (53.4) | 175 (57.0) |
| Other government | 103 (17.0) | 41 (13.4) |
| Other/none/unknown | 67 (11.0) | 26 (8.5) |
| Post intervention | 333 (54.9) | 165 (53.7) |
| Total hospital cost, 1,000 2013 US$d | 45.2 (SD, 50.3) | 50.7 (SD, 58.7) |
| Median (IQR) | 26.6 (12.2, 61.4) | 28.8 (12.8, 66.6) |
| Total ICU cost, 1,000 2013 US$d | 34.8 (SD, 41.7) | 38.6 (SD, 48.3) |
| Median (IQR) | 20.4 (8.6, 44.0) | 21.1 (7.7, 50.0) |
| Cost per ICU day, 1,000 2013 US$d | 6.8 (SD, 5.8) | 6.8 (SD, 6.9) |
| Median (IQR) | 5.5 (4.2, 7.7) | 5.5 (4.1, 7.4) |
Data presented as mean (SD) or No. (%), unless otherwise indicated. GED = General Education Development; IQR = interquartile range.
a
Determined by first International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision code listed; this reflects most reimbursable, not necessarily primary diagnosis.
b
As reported on death certificate.
c
Proportion among patients with medical record documentation of presence/absence of living will.
d
Adjusted for inflation and reported in 2013 US dollars.