Physicians’ attitudes in relation to end-of-life decisions in Neonatal Intensive Care Units: a national multicenter survey

Chatziioannidis, Ilias; Iliodromiti, Zoi; Boutsikou, Theodora; Pouliakis, Abraham; Giougi, Evangelia; Sokou, Rozeta; Vidalis, Takis; Xanthos, Theodoros; Marina, Cuttini; Iacovidou, Nicoletta

doi:10.1186/s12910-020-00555-6

Table 3 Association of physicians’ characteristics with EoL practices

From: Physicians’ attitudes in relation to end-of-life decisions in Neonatal Intensive Care Units: a national multicenter survey

	N	WH treatment (N_Yes = 28)	WH emergency treatment (N_Yes = 50)	Continue treatment (N_Yes = 91)	WD mechanical ventilation (N_Yes = 11)	Administer medication (N_Yes = 30)
Gender
Male	30	1.2 (0.4–3.2)	0.7 (0.3–1.8)	1.3 (0.6–2.9)	1.6 (0.4–6.6)	3.3 (1.3–7.9)
Female	126	0.7446	0.4819	0.5365	0.4827	0.007
Age
< 40	45	0.4 (0.1–1.1)	0.4 (0.2–0.8)	0.6 (0.3–1.2)	*	2.2 (1–5.1)
≥ 40	111	0.0605	0.015	0.1276	0.0285	0.0513
Having had children
No	33	1 (0.4–2.7)	0.7 (0.3–1.6)	1.3 (0.6–3)	0.7 (0.1–3.5)	1.3 (0.5–3.4)
Yes	109	0.9827	0.3654	0.4902	0.6792	0.5344
Religion importance
Important	71	0.6 (0.2–1.4)	0.8 (0.4–1.5)	1.4 (0.7–2.7)	0.6 (0.2–2.3)	0.5 (0.2–1.2)
Quite or not important	82	0.2095	0.4465	0.2866	0.4882	0.1093
Daily duties
Yes	112	1 (0.4–2.6)	0.8 (0.4–1.7)	0.9 (0.4–1.9)	0.4 (0.1–1.3)	0.6 (0.2–1.4)
No	39	0.9897	0.5934	0.7748	0.1225	0.2361
Years of employment
< 6	77	0.6 (0.3–1.4)	0.4 (0.2–0.9)	0.7 (0.3–1.3)	1.3 (0.4–4.3)	1 (0.5–2.3)
≥ 6	79	0.2392	0.0219	0.2033	0.7212	0.9377
Years of employment
< 15	115	1.1 (0.4–2.8)	1.2 (0.5–2.6)	0.7 (0.3–1.4)	3.8 (0.5–30.7)	1 (0.4–2.4)
≥ 15	41	0.8649	0.6565	0.2553	0.1791	0.9575
Working hours (per week)
< 40	38	0.6 (0.2–1.8)	1.3 (0.6–2.9)	1.5 (0.7–3.2)	1.2 (0.3–4.7)	0.9 (0.4–2.4)
≥ 40	118	0.3762	0.4668	0.2837	0.8154	0.8842
Education
Graduate from medical school	86	0.5 (0.2–1.2)	0.6 (0.3–1.3)	0.9 (0.5–1.8)	0.6 (0.2–2.2)	1.1 (0.5–2.4)
M.Sc. and/or Ph.D.	69	0.1375	0.1958	0.8721	0.4874	0.8846
Follow up in outpatient clinic
Yes	121	0.8 (0.3–2)	0.9 (0.4–2.1)	0.7 (0.3–1.5)	0.7 (0.2–2.7)	2.8 (0.8–9.8)
No	32	0.5565	0.8182	0.3364	0.5905	0.1011
Employment contract
Non-permanent	69	0.6 (0.3–1.4)	1 (0.5–2)	0.7 (0.4–1.3)	1 (0.3–3.4)	1.1 (0.5–2.6)
Tenure	82	0.2401	0.9578	0.2873	0.9867	0.7563
Involvement in research
Yes	81	1.3 (0.5–2.9)	0.8 (0.4–1.6)	0.5 (0.3–1)	10.1 (1.3–81.3)	1.6 (0.7–3.7)
No	73	0.5944	0.5391	0.0576	0.0083	0.2569
Physician’s rank
Fellow	58	1 (0.4–2.3)	0.5 (0.2–1)	0.6 (0.3–1.3)	1.9 (0.6–6.7)	1.4 (0.6–3.3)
Specialized Neonatologist	89	0.9837	0.0562	0.2002	0.2871	0.4015
Position on existing legal framework
Should change	104	13 (1.7–99.2)	4.8 (1.7–13.4)	0.9 (0.4–1.9)	**	2.4 (0.8–7.5)
Should not change or not relevant	38	0.002	0.0012	0.7616	0.0369	0.1192

For each comparison the odds ratio, 95% confidence interval and p value are depicted. In each row total number of cases for group options (as N) and in each column positive answers in the specific question (as N_Yes) are reported. There was only one positive response in the reported practice C6; thus, no statistical comparisons were performed
WH withhold, WD withdraw, administer medication administration of sedatives and/or analgesic drugs
^*Not applicable all participants that declared yes had age ≥ 40
^**Not applicable all participants that declared no or not relevant responded no in this question

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