Palliative care teams in the intensive care unit: a randomised, controlled, feasibility study

To determine whether palliative care teams can improve patient, family and staff satisfaction for patients receiving end-of-life care in the intensive care unit and reduce surrogate markers of health care costs.

Randomised controlled, feasibility study.

14-bed general ICU over 29 months in 2006-2008.

Patients admitted with a terminal or preterminal condition, for whom the treating intensivist considered that escalating or continuing treatment was unlikely to achieve significant improvement in the patient's clinical condition.

A consultation from a palliative care team, in addition to usual ICU end-of-life care.

ICU and hospital length of stay, and changes in composite scores of satisfaction obtained from questionnaires administered to families, nursing staff and intensivists.

The study was constrained by significant logistical and methodological problems, including low recruitment and questionnaire completion rates, and the lack of an available validated questionnaire. From a total of 2009 admissions over a 29-month period, 20 patients were enrolled, 10 in each group. There were significant differences in baseline characteristics. There were no statistically significant differences between those who had a consultation with the palliative care team and those who did not in median ICU length of stay (3 days v 5 days, P=0.97), median hospital length of stay (5 days v 11 days, P=0.44), or changes in overall composite satisfaction scores reported by families (-6% v -6%, P=0.91), nursing staff (+5% v +15%, P=0.30), and intensivists (-2% v +2%, P=0.42).

This feasibility study was difficult to conduct and did not generate any robust conclusions about the utility of involving palliative care teams in end-of-life care in the ICU. Larger studies are technically possible but unlikely to be feasible.

Australian Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN012606000110583.