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OBJECTIVES:. To determine the degree to which an ICU patient’s family member having an “anxious” psychologic attachment orientation is a risk factor for developing long-term posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms following patient ICU discharge or death. DESIGN:. Prospective cohort study. SETTING:. Single academic neuroscience ICU from November 2017 to September 2020. PARTICIPANTS:. Consecutively enrolled sample of family members, one for each ICU patient with a minimum length of stay of 24 hours. INTERVENTIONS:. None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS:. Near time of ICU discharge or patient death, we determined each participant’s psychologic attachment orientation as anxious versus nonanxious via a brief standard survey tool, the Relationship Questionnaire, and measured other participant and patient characteristics as potential covariates. Six months after discharge or death, each participant completed the Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R) to measure PTSD symptoms, with a score of greater than 24 indicative of clinically significant symptoms. Among 162 total participants, 10 of 27 participants (37.0%) with an anxious attachment orientation reported 6-month PTSD symptoms, compared with 24 of 135 nonanxious participants (17.8%) (relative risk, 2.08; 95% CI, 1.13–3.84; p = 0.02; risk difference 19.2%). In a subsequent univariate analysis of participant and patient covariates, anxious attachment orientation, participant Hispanic ethnicity, prior experience as a care partner of a patient with a disability, and participation in 3 or more formal ICU family meetings were all associated with 6-month PTSD symptoms. In a multiple logistic regression, anxious attachment remained an independent predictor of 6-month PTSD symptoms (odds ratio [OR], 3.64; 95% CI, 1.35–9.77; p = 0.01), as did Hispanic ethnicity (OR, 4.72; 95% CI, 1.34–16.6; p = 0.01) and participation in three or more ICU family meetings (odds ratio, 2.97; 95% CI, 1.14–7.68; p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS:. An anxious psychologic attachment orientation is associated with double the risk of long-term PTSD symptoms among family members of ICU patients. Future interventions designed to decrease risk of adverse psychologic outcomes among ICU families could be initially tested for efficacy amongst those who fall into this high-risk category.

OBJECTIVES:. To measure the frequency of withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy for perceived poor neurologic prognosis among decedents in hospitals of different sizes and teaching statuses. DESIGN:. We performed a multicenter, retrospective cohort study. SETTING:. Four large teaching hospitals, four affiliated small teaching hospitals, and nine affiliated nonteaching hospitals in the United States. PATIENTS:. We included a sample of all adult inpatient decedents between August 2017 and August 2019. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS:. We reviewed inpatient notes and categorized the immediately preceding circumstances as withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy for perceived poor neurologic prognosis, withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy for nonneurologic reasons, limitations or withholding of life support or resuscitation, cardiac death despite full treatment, or brain death. Of 2,100 patients, median age was 71 years (interquartile range, 60–81 yr), median hospital length of stay was 5 days (interquartile range, 2–11 d), and 1,326 (63%) were treated at four large teaching hospitals. Withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy for perceived poor neurologic prognosis occurred in 516 patients (25%) and was the sole contributing factor to death in 331 (15%). Withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy for perceived poor neurologic prognosis was common in all hospitals: 30% of deaths at large teaching hospitals, 19% of deaths in small teaching hospitals, and 15% of deaths at nonteaching hospitals. Withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy for perceived poor neurologic prognosis happened frequently across all hospital units. Withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy for perceived poor neurologic prognosis contributed to one in 12 deaths in patients without a primary neurologic diagnosis. After accounting for patient and hospital characteristics, significant between-hospital variability in the odds of withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy for perceived poor neurologic prognosis persisted. CONCLUSIONS:. A quarter of inpatient deaths in this cohort occurred after withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy for perceived poor neurologic prognosis. The rate of withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy for perceived poor neurologic prognosis occurred commonly in all type of hospital settings. We observed significant unexplained variation in the odds of withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy for perceived poor neurologic prognosis across participating hospitals.

Objectives:. To describe the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 on family engagement among ICUs participating in a multicenter collaborative promoting implementation of family-centered care projects and to report sites’ experiences with the collaborative itself prior to its cancelation due to the pandemic in March 2020. Design:. Cross-sectional survey. Setting:. Twenty-seven academic and community ICUs in the United States and South Korea. Subjects:. Site leaders. Interventions:. Prior to March 2020, all sites had participated in 6 months of webinars, monthly calls, and listserv communication to facilitate projects and to collect preimplementation family satisfaction and clinician perception data. Measurements and Main Results:. Planned projects included ICU orientation initiatives (12, 44.4%), structured family care conferences (6, 22.2%), and ICU diaries (5, 18.5%). After cancelation of the collaborative, 22 site leaders (81.5%) were surveyed by phone from June 2020 to July 2020. Twenty (90.1%) reported having stopped their site project; projects that continued were 1) a standardized palliative extubation protocol and 2) daily written clinical summaries for families. Sites described significant variability in visitor restriction policies and uncertainty regarding future policy changes. Four sites (18.2%) reported that their hospital did not provide personal protective equipment to visitors. Regarding video conferencing with families, 11 sites (52.4%) reported clinicians’ using their own personal devices. Two-hundred twelve family surveys and 346 clinician surveys collected prior to cancelation highlighted a broad need for family support. When leaders were asked on a scale from 0 to 10 how helpful collaborative activities had been prior to cancelation, mean response was 8.0 (sd 2.5). Conclusions:. While the collaborative model can help promote ICU family engagement initiatives, coronavirus disease 2019 has impeded implementation of these initiatives even among motivated units. ICUs need adequate personal protective equipment for visitors and video conferencing capabilities on hospital devices while strict visitor restrictions continue to evolve.