Table 2.
Circumstances of death in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (N = 82)
| Parameter | n (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Location of death | |
|
| ICU |
62 (75.6) | |
| General care |
20 (24.4) | |
| Goals-of-care discussion | ||
| Documented discussion |
80 (97.6) | |
| Face to face |
35 (42.7) | |
| Telephone |
73 (89.0) | |
| Virtual |
2 (2.4) | |
| Held within 72 h of admission to ICU, no./total no. ever admitted to ICU (%) |
43/72 (59.7) | |
| Held within 24 h of death or decision to withdraw life support |
75 (91.5) | |
| Advanced directives documented |
26 (31.7) | |
| Spiritual support visitation | ||
| Spiritual support visit was offered |
72 (87.8) | |
| Offered before intubation, no./total no. intubated and offered spiritual support (%) |
5/55 (9.1) | |
| Spiritual support visitation occurred |
66 (80.5) | |
| Visitation occurred before intubation, no./total no. intubated with visit (%) |
5/51 (9.8) | |
| Presence of friends and family before death | ||
| Physically present at bedside |
28 (34.1) | |
| Virtual visit within 24 h before death or withdrawal of life support |
13 (15.9) | |
| Both physically presence at bedside and virtual visit within 24 h |
4 (4.9) | |
| Neither presence at bedside nor virtual visit within 24 h |
45 (54.9) | |
| Respiratory support at time of death or decision to limit/withdraw life support | ||
| Room air |
4 (4.9) | |
| Nasal cannula oxygen |
11 (13.4) | |
| High-flow nasal cannula oxygen |
9 (11.0) | |
| Noninvasive positive pressure ventilation |
0 (0) | |
| IMV |
58 (70.7) | |
| IMV discontinued before death, no./total no. on IMV (%) |
37/58 (63.8) | |
| Patient on IMV at time of death, no./total no. on IMV (%) |
21/58 (36.2) | |
| Organ system dysfunction within 72 h of death | ||
| Pulmonary |
67 (81.7) | |
| Neurologic |
47 (57.3) | |
| Renal |
32 (39.0) | |
| Cardiac |
10 (12.2) | |
| Hematologic |
5 (6.1) | |
| Hemorrhagic |
3 (3.7) | |
| Gastrointestinal |
1 (1.2) | |
| Hepatic |
0 (0) | |
| Multiorgan failure |
55 (67.1) | |
| Septic shock |
33 (40.2) | |
| Other features at end of life | ||
| Coinfection |
34 (41.5) | |
| Withdrawal or limitation of life-sustaining interventions |
63 (76.8) | |
| Receiving cardiopulmonary resuscitation in last hour of life | 6 (7.3) | |
Definition of abbreviations: COVID-19 = coronavirus disease; ICU = intensive care unit; IMV = invasive mechanical ventilation.