Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25484624›Full record

ArticleBMC palliative care2014

Death wishes and explicit requests for euthanasia in a palliative care hospital: an analysis of patients files.

Frédéric Guirimand, Etienne Dubois, Lucy Laporte, Jean-François Richard, Danièle Leboul

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC palliative care, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
3.2field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 31 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Frédéric GuirimandPôle Recherche et Enseignement Universitaire SPES (Soins Palliatifs En Société), Maison Médicale Jeanne Garnier, 106 av Emile Zola, 75015 Paris, France.
Etienne DuboisPôle Recherche et Enseignement Universitaire SPES (Soins Palliatifs En Société), Maison Médicale Jeanne Garnier, 106 av Emile Zola, 75015 Paris, France.
Lucy LaportePôle Recherche et Enseignement Universitaire SPES (Soins Palliatifs En Société), Maison Médicale Jeanne Garnier, 106 av Emile Zola, 75015 Paris, France.
Jean-François RichardPôle Recherche et Enseignement Universitaire SPES (Soins Palliatifs En Société), Maison Médicale Jeanne Garnier, 106 av Emile Zola, 75015 Paris, France.
Danièle LeboulPôle Recherche et Enseignement Universitaire SPES (Soins Palliatifs En Société), Maison Médicale Jeanne Garnier, 106 av Emile Zola, 75015 Paris, France.
Centre National des Soins Palliatifs et de la Fin de Vie · FR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn the current public debate in France about end-of-life and legalization of euthanasia, palliative care is considered as a suitable answer or an alternative or even a supplement to euthanasia. The debate is based on opinion surveys, partly because there is a lack of objective data about the incidence of euthanasia requests (ER) in palliative care settings. The aim of this study was to collect, classify and quantify the expressions of wishes to die (WD), based on computerized files for patients admitted to an 81-bed palliative care hospital (PCH) in Paris during 2010-2011.

methodsTwo researchers analyzed the carers' notes extracted on the basis of containing the words "wish to die", "euthanasia" or any expressions relating to death. Notes related to WD and the corresponding patients were then classified in the order: ER, suicidal thought (ST) and other wish to die (OWD). Repeated ER were qualitatively analyzed according to a grid.

resultsWe found that 195 of the 2157 patients (9%) expressed a WD: 61 (3%) expressed an ER; 15 (1%) described ST and 119 (6%) expressed an OWD without requiring acting. The WD group was predominantly female, stayed longer in the hospital (median 24 vs. 13 days), and consumed more anxiolytics and antidepressants. None of age, disease or marital status was associated with ER. More women and widows expressed an OWD. Twenty-six ER patients also expressed an OWD and two a ST. Six patients repeated their ER: all had poorly controlled symptoms with repercussions for their mental state.

conclusionOur data show the existence of various expressions of WD with a low incidence of ER in a French PCH. The observation of WD including ER is suggestive of good communication between the patients and the care teams. Independent of the changeability of expressions of WD, their very existence should lead to a consideration of the dynamic changes in these WD, and to care staff paying additional attention to the individual, their suffering and the context.

Indexed as

Euthanasia requestsPalliative carePalliative care hospitalSuicidal thoughtWish to die

Identifiers

PMID25484624
PMCPMC4256797
OpenAlexW2150902328

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.