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Table 1 Frequency of all the different end-of-life medical decisions

From: End-of-life medical decisions in France: a death certificate follow-up survey 5 years after the 2005 act of parliament on patients’ rights and end of life

 

All decisions

 

Most important decision

 

Weighted data

 

Weighted data

 

N

Percentage

95% Confidence interval

Unweighted data N

N

Percentage

95% Confidence interval

Sudden death

798

16.9

15.8-18.0

789

798

16.9

15.8-18.0

Medical decision without any intention regarding death

 Life-prolonging treatment

1513

32

30.7-33.4

588

576

12.2

11.3.13.2

 Treatment withheld

325

6.9

6.2-7.6

140

140

3

2.5-3.5

 Treatment withdrawn

86

1.8

1.4-2.2

15

15

0.3

0.2-0.5

 Intensification of treatment to alleviate symptoms  with opioids or benzodiazepines

386

8.2

7.4-8.9

252

246

5.2

4.6-5.8

 Intention of treatment to alleviate symptoms with  medications other than opioids or benzodiazepines

199

4.2

3.6-4.8

97

97

2.1

1.7-2.5

 None of the above

599

12.7

11.7-13.7

571

599

12.7

11.7-13.7

Medical end-of-life practice that possibly or certainly hastened death

   

2239

2252

47.7

 

Treatment withheld

1594

33.7

 

691

688

14.6

13.6-15.6

 Knowing that the decision may hasten the death

1526

32.3

31.0-33.6

657

655

13.9

12.9-14.9

 With the intention of hastening death

68

1.4

1.1-1.8

34

33

0.7

0.5-0.9

Treatment withdrawn

531

11.2

 

202

199

4.2

3.6-4.8

 Knowing that the decision may hasten the death

465

9.8

9.0-10.7

162

161

3.4

2.9-3.9

 With the intention of hastening death

66

1.4

1.1-1.7

40

38

0.8

0.6-1.1

Intensification of treatment to alleviate pain and/or symptoms (opioids/benzodiazepines)

1381

29.2

 

1346

1327

28.1

26.8-29.4

 Knowing that the decision may hasten the death

1324

29.0

26.7-29.3

1306

1288

27.3

26.0-28.5

 With the intention of hastening death

57

1.2

0.9-1.5

40

39

0.8

0.6-1.1

Use of a drug to deliberately end life*

38

0.8

0.5-1.1

38

38

0.8

0.5-1.1

 At patient’s request

11

0.2

0.1-0.4

10

11

0.2

0.1-0.4

  1. Sudden deaths: deaths declared “sudden and unexpected” and on which the physician has no information about the end of life.
  2. The weighted percentages are weighted for non-response bias.
  3. All decisions = every affirmative answer to questions about medical decisions.
  4. Most important decision = when more than one decision is observed, the one with the most explicit intention (or awareness) of hastening death (see classification details in Methods).
  5. * no doctor assisted suicide have been observed.
  6. Missing values: 168.
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BMC Palliative Care

ISSN: 1472-684X

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