Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37131026›Full record

ArticleCanadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthesie2023

Variability in criteria for death determination in the intensive care unit.

Jonah Shemie, Nathan B Scales, Ewa Sucha, Nick Barrowman, Laura Hornby, Amanda van Beinum, Sonny Dhanani

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

Article in Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthesie, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 16% 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

2 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Review
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

7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Jonah ShemieSchool of Medicine, University College Cork, Cork, Munster, Ireland.
Nathan B ScalesThe Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Ewa SuchaChildren's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada.
Nick BarrowmanChildren's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada.
Laura HornbyChildren's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada.
Amanda van BeinumChildren's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada.
Sonny DhananiDivision of Critical Care, Department of Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, 401 Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON, K1H 8L1, Canada. sdhanani@cheo.on.ca.
Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario · CAOttawa Hospital · CAUniversity College Cork · IE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeVariability in practice exists in death determination by circulatory criteria in the context of organ donation. We sought to describe the practices of intensive care health care professionals for death determination by circulatory criteria with and without organ donation.

methodsThis study is a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data. We included patients with death determination by circulatory criteria in intensive care units at 16 hospitals in Canada, three in the Czech Republic, and one in the Netherlands. Results were recorded using a checklist for the determination of death questionnaire.

resultsA total of 583 patients had their death determination checklist reviewed for statistical analysis. The mean (standard deviation) age in years was 64 (15). Three hundred and fourteen (54.0%) patients were from Canada, 230 (39.5%) were from the Czech Republic, and 38 (6.5%) were from the Netherlands. Fifty-two (8.9%) patients proceeded with donation after death determination by circulatory criteria (DCD). The most common diagnostic tests reported for the whole group were absent heart sounds by auscultation (81.8%), flat continuous arterial blood pressure (ABP) tracing (77.0%), and flat electrocardiogram tracing (73.2%). In patients who successfully underwent DCD (N = 52), death was determined most frequently using a flat continuous ABP tracing (94%), absent pulse oximetry (85%), and absent palpable pulse (77%).

conclusionIn this study, we have described practices for death determination by circulatory criteria both within and between countries. Though some variability exists, we are reassured that appropriate criteria are almost always used in the context of organ donation. In particular, the use of continuous ABP monitoring in DCD was consistent. It highlights the need for standardization of practice and up to date guidelines, especially within the context of DCD where there is both an ethical and a legal requirement to adhere to the dead donor rule, while minimizing time between death determination and organ procurement.

Indexed as

DeathTissue and Organ ProcurementHumansIntensive Care UnitsMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesTissue Donorscirculatory criteriadeath determinationorgan donation

Identifiers

PMID37131026
PMCPMC10202993
OpenAlexW4367692951

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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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.