End-of-life care in the pediatric ICU

Abstract

Pediatric ICUs frequently provide end-of-life (EOL) care to children. Our understanding of how EOL care is delivered to children and what constitutes effective care for dying children and their families in the ICU setting continues to evolve. This review identifies recent work describing events related to the death of a child in the ICU as well as interventional efforts to improve family and provider support. Pediatric ICUs (PICUs) often provide EOL care to children who die in the developed world. Areas of active investigation include identifying effective communication techniques, meeting the needs of patients and parents, and providing support to care providers. PICU practitioners are developing flexible and novel approaches to pediatric EOL care in the ICU setting.