Do young adults complete health care proxies before anesthesia?

Health care proxy (HCP) completion rates by older adults are relatively low; however, not much is known about proxy completion rates by younger adults.

This study aimed to identify HCP completion rates amongst 18-21 year old young adults without intellectual disabilities admitted to a pediatric hospital peri-anesthesia care unit (PACU) and determine whether there was an association with any demographic factors.

Retrospective chart review was performed to describe demographic variables, presence of HCP, and relationship to proxy. The relationship between demographic groups and HCP completion was analyzed by chi-square analysis for categorical variables and student t-test for continuous variables.

Overall, 31.4 % (128/408) of patients completed an HCP, and younger patients were more likely to have done so. Analysis showed no statistically significant relationship between other demographic variables and HCP completion. A majority of patients identified a parent as their proxy.

Less than one third of young adult patients admitted to a children's hospital perioperative care unit completed a health care proxy. Other than age, there was no statistically significant difference in demographic variables between those who completed and did not complete a health care proxy. Further research is needed to validate these findings in other clinical settings and drive targeted initiatives to increase advance care planning among young adult patients.