BACKGROUND: It is important to pursue goal-concordant care and to prevent non-beneficial interventions in older people. AIM: To describe serious illness communication and decision-making practices in hospitalised older people in Europe. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Data on advance directives, goals of care (GOC) discussions and treatment limitation decisions were collected about patients aged 75-years and older admitted to 23 European acute geriatric units (AGUs). RESULTS: In this cohort of 590 older persons [59.5% aged 85 and above, 59.3% female, median premorbid Clinical Frailty Score (CFS) 6], a formal advance directive was recorded in 3.3% and a pre-hospital treatment limitation in 14.0% with significant differences between European regions (respectively P < 0.001 and P = 0.018).Most prevalent GOC was preservation of function (46.8%). GOC were discussed with patients in 64.0%, with families in 73.0%, within the interprofessional hospital team in 67.0% and with primary care in 13.4%. The GOC and the extent to which it was discussed differed between European regions (both P < 0.001). The prevalence of treatment limitation decisions was 53.7% with a large difference within and between countries (P < 0.001). The odds of having a treatment limitation decision were higher for patients with pre-hospital treatment limitation decisions (OR 39.1), residing in Western versus Southern Europe (OR 4.8), belonging to an older age category (OR 3.2), living with a higher number of severe comorbidities (OR 2.2) and higher premorbid CFS (OR 1.3). CONCLUSIONS: There is large variability across European AGUs concerning GOC discussions and treatment limitation decisions. Sharing of information between primary and hospital care about patient preferences is noticeably deficient.

• Klíčová slova
• 80 and over, acute hospital, aged, multicentre study, older people, patient care planning, resuscitation orders,
• MeSH
• geriatrické hodnocení MeSH
• komunikace MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• pacientova přání ohledně budoucí terapie * statistika a číselné údaje   MeSH
• plánování péče o pacienty MeSH
• průřezové studie MeSH
• rozhodování MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• věkové faktory MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• multicentrická studie MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Evropa MeSH

BACKGROUND: In concordance with the results of large, observational studies, a 2015 European survey suggested variation in resuscitation/end-of-life practices and emergency care organization across 31 countries. The current survey-based study aimed to comparatively assess the evolution of practices from 2015 to 2019, especially in countries with "low" (i.e., average or lower) 2015 questionnaire domain scores. METHODS: The 2015 questionnaire with additional consensus-based questions was used. The 2019 questionnaire covered practices/decisions related to end-of-life care (domain A); determinants of access to resuscitation/post-resuscitation care (domain B); diagnosis of death/organ donation (domain C); and emergency care organization (domain D). Responses from 25 countries were analyzed. Positive or negative responses were graded by 1 or 0, respectively. Domain scores were calculated by summation of practice-specific response grades. RESULTS: Domain A and B scores for 2015 and 2019 were similar. Domain C score decreased by 1 point [95% confidence interval (CI): 1-3; p = 0.02]. Domain D score increased by 2.6 points (95% CI: 0.2-5.0; p = 0.035); this improvement was driven by countries with "low" 2015 domain D scores. In countries with "low" 2015 domain A scores, domain A score increased by 5.5 points (95% CI: 0.4-10.6; p = 0.047). CONCLUSIONS: In 2019, improvements in emergency care organization and an increasing frequency of end-of-life practices were observed primarily in countries with previously "low" scores in the corresponding domains of the 2015 questionnaire.

• Klíčová slova
• emergency care, ethics, resuscitation, surveys and questionnaires, terminal care,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

These European Resuscitation Council Ethics guidelines provide evidence-based recommendations for the ethical, routine practice of resuscitation and end-of-life care of adults and children. The guideline primarily focus on major ethical practice interventions (i.e. advance directives, advance care planning, and shared decision making), decision making regarding resuscitation, education, and research. These areas are tightly related to the application of the principles of bioethics in the practice of resuscitation and end-of-life care.

UNLABELLED: Diese Ethikleitlinien des Europäischen Rats für Wiederbelebung enthalten evidenzbasierte Empfehlungen für die ethische, routinemäßige Praxis der Wiederbelebung und für die Betreuung von Erwachsenen und Kindern am Lebensende. Die Leitlinie konzentriert sich in erster Linie auf wichtige Maßnahmen in Bezug auf ethische Praktiken (d. h. Patientenverfügung, vorausschauende Behandlungsplanung* und gemeinsame Entscheidungsfindung), die Entscheidungsfindung in Bezug auf Wiederbelebung, Ausbildung und Forschung. Diese Bereiche stehen in engem Zusammenhang mit der Anwendung der Prinzipien der Bioethik in der Praxis der Wiederbelebung und der Betreuung am Lebensende. ZUSATZMATERIAL ONLINE: Zusätzliche Informationen sind in der Online-Version dieses Artikels (10.1007/s10049-021-00888-8) enthalten.

• Klíčová slova
• Advance care planing, Advance directives, Shared decision making,
• Publikační typ
• anglický abstrakt MeSH
• časopisecké články MeSH
• přehledy MeSH