Journal of critical care
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Journal of critical care · Feb 2014
Multicenter StudyAre written advance directives helpful to guide end-of-life therapy in the intensive care unit? A retrospective matched-cohort study.
The purpose of the study was to determine whether treatment preferences in patients' advance directives (ADs) are associated with life-supporting treatments received during end-of-life care in the intensive care unit (ICU). ⋯ Patients with ADs are less likely to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation but otherwise receive similar life-sustaining treatments compared to matched patients without ADs. More research is needed to explore reasons for potential noncompliance with patient preferences.