Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42315742›Full record

Observational studyEuropean geriatric medicine2026

Intensive care under uncertainty: a qualitative study of how older patients and their relatives wish to contribute to decision-making.

Gabriele Leonie Schwarz, Britt Ågot Sjøbø, Elisabeth Skaar, Ingrid Miljeteig, Reidar Kvåle, Hans Flaatten, Karen E A Burns, Paul K J Han, Margrethe Schaufel

Erratum issued Registry-linked trialAbstract readObservational Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in European geriatric medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to trial NCT05149040 (Very Elderly Patients' Treatment Preferences and Participation in Shared Decision-making in the Event of Acute Life-threatening Illness), which is not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

NCT05149040 active not recruitingnot on this map

Very Elderly Patients' Treatment Preferences and Participation in Shared Decision-making in the Event of Acute Life-threatening Illness

TypeobservationalSponsorHaukeland University HospitalRan2021 to 2025Enrolled1,472ConditionsAged, 80 and Over, Critical IllnessArmssurvey "Intensive care of very elderly: What do they wish for themselves?"
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Gabriele Leonie SchwarzDepartment of Surgical Services, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway. gabriele.leonie.schwarz@helse-bergen.no.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0003-4044-0561
Britt Ågot SjøbøDepartment of Surgical Services, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2873-7023
Elisabeth SkaarClinic of Heart Disease, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7911-884X
Ingrid MiljeteigBergen Centre for Ethics and Priority Setting, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5738-017X
Reidar KvåleDepartment of Surgical Services, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8839-6131
Hans FlaattenDepartment of Clinical Medicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9186-3482
Karen E A BurnsInterdepartmental Division of Critical Care Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9967-5424
Paul K J HanDivision of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0165-1940
Margrethe SchaufelDepartment of Clinical Medicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9273-2345

Funding

Helse Vest F-12588/4800005953
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeGiven the importance of shared decision-making in critical illness in advanced age, we aimed to explore how very old patients and their next of kin envision their contribution to the decision-making process.

methodsFrom November 2021 to March 2023, we conducted a survey among Norwegian outpatients aged 80 and over and their next of kin. We studied their perspectives on hypothetical scenarios of acute, life-threatening illness warranting admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). In this sub-study, we conducted cross-case thematic analysis of free-text responses addressing patients' and next-of-kins' participation in shared decision-making.

resultsOf 202 very old and 153 next-of-kin respondents, 210 participants provided 339 free-text comments relevant to this research question. Vi identified five main categories, describing how participants wished to contribute to the decision process: (1) Seeking scientific knowledge, (2) Contributing personal knowledge, (3) Tailoring care to the heterogeneity of older age, (4) Improving the process of decision-making, and (5) Strengthening security. Applying a framework for medical uncertainty and uncertainty tolerance, we found that all five of them comprised ways of coping with or adapting to the multidimensional uncertainty characterising clinical decisions when very old patients fall critically ill.

conclusionThese findings highlight the need to include patients' and family members' personal knowledge in clinical decision-making, and to facilitate the presence of next of kin when very old patients require critical care. TRAIL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrails.gov NCT05149040 (October 31, 2021).

Indexed as

Critical CareCritical IllnessDecision MakingDecision Making, SharedFamilyPatient ParticipationAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHumansIntensive Care UnitsMaleNorwayQualitative ResearchSurveys and QuestionnairesUncertaintyAged 80And overCritical illnessDecision-makingIntensive care unitSharedUncertainty

Identifiers

PMID42315742
PMCPMC13562126

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

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.