Caring for critically ill patients with advanced COPD at the end of life: a qualitative study

Providing expert critical care for the high acuity patient with a diagnosis of COPD at the end of life is both complex and challenging. The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine intensive care unit (ICU) clinicians' perspectives on the obstacles to providing quality care for individuals with COPD who die within the critical care environment. Transcripts of three focus groups of ICU clinicians were analyzed using thematic analysis. The three themes of "managing difficult symptoms", "questioning the appropriateness of life-sustaining care" and "conflicting care priorities" were noted to be significant challenges in providing high quality end of life care to this population. Difficulties in palliating dyspnea and anxiety were associated with caregiver feelings of helplessness, empathy and fears about "killing the patient". A sense of futility, concerns about "torturing the patient" and questions about the patient/family's understanding of treatment pervaded much of the discourse about caring for people with advanced COPD in the ICU. The need to prioritize care to the most unstable ICU patients meant that patients with COPD did not always receive the attention clinicians felt they should ideally have. Organizational support must be made available for critical care clinicians to effectively deal with these issues.