Pediatric Interprofessional ICU Ethics Rounds: A Single-Center Study

OBJECTIVES: We sought to examine whether sociodemographic differences, such as race and socioeconomic status, existed between patients in the PICU, pediatric cardiothoracic ICU (PCTU), and NICU who were identified as having ethical issues during interprofessional ethics rounds and all other patients admitted to these units and to characterize the primary ethical issues identified in this context.

METHODS: We compared sociodemographic factors among patients admitted to a quaternary academic children’s hospital between January 2017 and December 2018 who were identified as having ethical issues during PICU, PCTU, and NICU interprofessional ethics rounds (n = 122) with those of all other patients admitted to these units (n = 4971). χ² tests or Fisher’s exact tests, Mann–Whitney U tests, and a multivariable logistic regression analysis were performed.

RESULTS: With bivariate analyses, we detected significant differences by race, insurance type, and ventilator dependence, but no significant differences between the 2 groups existed on the basis of sex, ethnicity, religion, primary language, age, or a socioeconomic status metric. After we adjusted for confounders using a multivariable logistic regression analysis, only patients who were ventilator dependent were at significantly higher odds (odds ratio = 5.78; confidence interval = 3.69–9.04; P < .001) of being identified as having ethical issues. Goals of care was the most frequent ethical issue (44%).

CONCLUSIONS: Except for ventilator dependence, patients with ethical issues during PICU, PCTU, and NICU interprofessional ethics rounds are demographically similar to overall patients admitted in these units. Future research should be used to assess whether proactive rounds impact the timing of ethics consultation requests as well as to determine if interprofessional ethics rounds influence volume and acuity in formal ethics consultation practices.