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Physicians' neonatal resuscitation of extremely low-birth-weight preterm infants
1Napa Valley College, CA, USA. acatlin@napanet.net
Insights
Physicians overwhelmingly resuscitated extremely low-birth-weight (ELBW) neonates despite high risks. Key factors included physician role, training, parental requests, and uncertainty, prompting calls for revised resuscitation guidelines.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Medicine
- Medical Ethics
- Perinatal Care
Background:
- High morbidity and mortality rates in extremely low-birth-weight (ELBW) neonates raise questions about delivery room resuscitation decisions.
- Existing literature lacks systematic studies on physicians' perceptions and decision-making processes regarding ELBW neonate resuscitation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the perceptions of physicians responsible for delivery room resuscitation decisions for ELBW neonates at the threshold of viability.
- To understand the factors influencing these critical clinical judgments in the delivery room setting.
Main Methods:
- A descriptive study employing naturalistic inquiry.
- Data collected through tape-recorded and transcribed interviews with 54 physicians across five perinatal subspecialties in the U.S. (1996-1997).
- Qualitative analysis using NUD*IST software and constant comparison methodology.
Main Results:
- Despite awareness of high risks, 96% of physicians offered resuscitation to all ELBW neonates.
- Primary decision-making factors included: physician role expectation ('trained to save lives'), parental requests, inability to determine gestational age, and transition from delivery room to NICU.
- Physicians reported significant burdens related to poor outcomes, predictive uncertainty, and inter-collegial conflicts; survival statistics, legal constraints, and cost had minimal impact.
Conclusions:
- The current Neonatal Resuscitation Protocol requires revision to include clearer ethical criteria for resuscitation decisions.
- Enhanced prenatal education for families regarding viability margins and outcomes is recommended.
- Support is needed for physicians to adapt and potentially change the established resuscitation paradigm.
Purpose:
To examine the perceptions of physicians who make delivery room decisions to resuscitate extremely low-birth-weight (ELBW) neonates at marginal viability. Nurses, parents, economists, and ethicists have questioned resuscitation of ELBW neonates, many of whom experience high levels of morbidity and mortality. Yet no systematic studies were found that addressed physicians' perceptions and delivery room decisions.
Design:
Descriptive, using naturalistic inquiry. A national U.S. convenience sample was obtained in 1996-1997 of 54 physicians in five perinatal subspecialties who resuscitated ELBW neonates.
Methods:
Tape-recorded and transcribed interviews were analyzed using NUD*IST software and line-by-line constant comparison.
Findings:
Despite awareness of the high morbidity and mortality, 96% of the physicians offered resuscitation to all ELBW neonates in the delivery room. The main factors affecting their decisions were "the role of physician;" having been "trained to save lives;" the belief that "if called, I resuscitate;" the inability to determine gestational age; requests from parents to "do everything;" and the need to move from a "chaotic" delivery room to a controlled neonatal intensive care unit. Six major themes were: role expectation, uncertainty, awareness, internal and external forces, burden, and continuing quandaries. Physicians were burdened by the devastated and dying babies, by their inability to predict which neonates had a chance for intact survival, and by conflicts with colleagues about viability. Statistical probability of survival, legal constraints, and cost of care did not appear to affect greatly their decisions. Physicians asked that society and national policy makers set parameters for resuscitation.
Conclusions:
The American Academy of Pediatrics' Neonatal Resuscitation Protocol needs revision to delineate the ethical criteria for resuscitation. Early prenatal education for families which clearly teaches the margins of viability and outcomes of early deliveries is also recommended. Physicians must be supported in changing the recessitation paradigm.