American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Apr 2017
The Voice of Surrogate Decision Makers: Family Responses to Prognostic Information in Chronic Critical Illness.
Information from clinicians about the expected course of the patient's illness is relevant and important for decision-making by surrogates for chronically critically ill patients on mechanical ventilation. ⋯ Prognostic disclosure by skilled clinician communicators evokes a repertoire of responses from surrogates for the chronically critically ill. Recognition of these response patterns may help all clinicians better communicate their support to patients and families facing chronic critical illness and inform interventions to support surrogate decision-makers in ICUs. Clinical trial registration available at www.clinicaltrials.gov, ID NCT01230099.