Table 2.

Criteria for Chronic Failure to Thrive and Triggers Prompting Contemplation of Withdrawal

Criteria or trigger:	Number	Percent of CFTT group
Physician answer of “No, I would not be surprised” to the surprise question	24	71%
Accelerating comorbid illnesses	22	65%
Poor prognosis based on patient-specific estimate of prognosis	18	53%
Increased frequency of hospitalizations	16	47%
Loss of personal drive to continue or severe, unrelenting depression	14	41%
Failure to thrive	14	41%
Diagnosis of non-renal terminal illnesses	11	32%
Loss of function including admission to a nursing home (4)	11	32%

Chronic failure to thrive (CFTT) defined as loss of function due to amputation, diagnosis of a nonrenal terminal illness, and other parameters suggestive of CFTT, including increasing frequency of hospitalizations, admission to nursing home for long-term care, loss of personal drive to continue dialysis, severe depression refractory to treatment, loss of mental or emotional capacity to understand changes in medical status or requirements of dialysis, or acceleration of one or more comorbid conditions refractory to treatment.