ReviewAnnals of translational medicine2017
What are the ethical issues in relation to the role of the family in intensive care?
Review in Annals of translational medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed.
- Influence on Depression, Anxiety, and Satisfaction of the Relatives' Visit to Intensive Care Units prior to Hospital Admission for Elective Cardiac Surgery: A Randomized Clinical Trial.International journal of clinical practice · 2022Trial
- Humanity-based nursing care in the ICU: a descriptive qualitative study.Philosophy, ethics, and humanities in medicine : PEHM · 2026Article
- Mental Health Needs of Families of Patients in Intensive Care Units and the Role of Mobile Health: Survey Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Previous Intensive Care Unit Experience Improves Family Satisfaction With Decision-Making: A Survey.Nursing in critical care · 2026Article
- Investigating the Feasibility, Usability, and Efficacy of a Mobile App to Reduce Anxiety and Depression in Families of Critical Care Cancer Patients: A Quasi-Experimental Pilot Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The Family's Contribution to Patient Safety.Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) · 2023Article
- ICU stays that are judged to be non-beneficial: A qualitative study of the perception of nursing staff.PloS one · 2023Article
- Team-family conflicts over end-of-life decisions in ICU: A survey of French physicians' beliefs.PloS one · 2023Article
- Intensive Care Residents' Views Regarding Ethical Issues and Practices.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2022Article
- The Impact of Signing Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders on the Use of Non-Beneficial Life-Sustaining Treatments for Intensive Care Unit Patients: A Retrospective Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Article
- Needs of family members of patients in a coronary care unit.Einstein (Sao Paulo, Brazil) · 2022Observational
- Intensive care doctors and nurses personal preferences for Intensive Care, as compared to the general population: a discrete choice experiment.Critical care (London, England) · 2021Observational
- Non-readmission decisions in the intensive care unit: A qualitative study of physicians' experience in a multicentre French study.PloS one · 2021Article
- Treatment Limitation Decisions in Critically Ill Patients With a Malignancy on the Intensive Care Unit.Journal of intensive care medicine · 2021Article
- [Ten key messages of the guidelines for family-centered care in intensive care medicine].Medizinische Klinik, Intensivmedizin und Notfallmedizin · 2019Review
- Non-readmission decisions in the intensive care unit under French rules: A nationwide survey of practices.PloS one · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
A large proportion of patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) are unable to express themselves, often due to acute illness, shock or trauma, and this precludes any communication and/or consent for care that might reflect their wishes and opinions. In such cases, the only solution for the ICU physician is to include the patient's family in the healthcare decisions. This can represent a significant burden on the family, on top of the psychological distress of the ICU environment and hospitalisation of their relatives, and many family members may suffer from anxiety, depression or symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during or after the hospitalisation and/or death of a loved one in the ICU. Good communication remains the cornerstone of family satisfaction in the ICU. Information imparted to the patient and/or family should cover diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. Information should be given orally, in person, using accessible language. Several other measures that can lessen the burden on the families of patients in the ICU and help to reduce anxiety and stress are also detailed in this review. Overall, family-centred care in the ICU requires a systematic communication strategy within the healthcare team, combined with an environment that is as amenable as possible to the family's presence and involvement, in order to maximize family satisfaction with ICU care, and ensure that the patient's values and preferences are respected.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.