Congenital Malformations, Palliative Care And Postnatal Redirection To More Intensive Treatment - A Review At A Swiss Tertiary Center
Title
Congenital Malformations, Palliative Care And Postnatal Redirection To More Intensive Treatment - A Review At A Swiss Tertiary Center
Creator
Pfeifer Ulrich; Gubler Deborah; Bergstraesser E; Bassler Dirk
Identifier
10.1080/14767058.2017.1311317
Publisher
The Journal Of Maternal-fetal & Neonatal Medicine: The Official Journal Of The European Association Of Perinatal Medicine, The Federation Of Asia And Oceania Perinatal Societies, The International Society Of Perinatal Obstetricians
Date
2017
Subject
Antenatal Diagnostics; Congenital Malformations; Neonatal Intensive Care; Pediatric Palliative Care; Perinatology
Description
PURPOSE: The so-called lethal malformations pose ethical challenges. Most affected fetuses die before or at birth. Live-born neonates commonly receive palliative care. If the postnatal course is better than expected, redirection towards more treatment may occur. We aimed to analyze this in a Swiss patient cohort. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Over 6 years, fetal malformation was suspected in 1113 cases. We identified patients prenatally assigned to palliative care, assessed pre- and postnatal diagnoses, and outcomes. RESULTS: Fourteen neonates received palliative care. Eleven patients received palliative care following late termination of pregnancy, for three, palliative care was planned and the fetus died during delivery, for two, the outcome was unknown (incomplete documentation). Genetic testing was performed in 50%. The predominant diagnostic group was central nervous system malformations (33%), followed by chromosomal aberrations (20%) and renal anomalies (17%). One child assigned to palliative care was resuscitated. Antenatal findings were anhydramnios and pulmonary hypoplasia. Postnatally, respiration was better than expected. The neonate was admitted to intensive care, died on day one. CONCLUSIONS: Nervous system malformations seem to be a major criterion for foregoing life-sustaining interventions. Redirection towards more treatment is rare. This may reflect precise prenatal prognostication; a degree of self-fulfilling prophecy cannot be excluded.
Rights
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
Citation List Month
June 2017 List
URL Address
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28413896
Citation
Pfeifer Ulrich; Gubler Deborah; Bergstraesser E; Bassler Dirk, “Congenital Malformations, Palliative Care And Postnatal Redirection To More Intensive Treatment - A Review At A Swiss Tertiary Center,” Pediatric Palliative Care Library, accessed April 24, 2024, https://pedpalascnetlibrary.omeka.net/items/show/10892.