Deciding about mechanical ventilation in end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: How respirologists perceive their role

Objective: To determine when respirologists approach patients with end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to decide about the use of mechanical ventilation, what information they provide to patients and how they provide it. Design: Self-administered national survey. Participants: All Canadian specialists in respiratory medicine; of 401 eligible respirologists, 279 (69.6%) returned a completed questionnaire. Outcome measures: Timing and content of doctor-patient discussions regarding mechanical ventilation; physicians' perception of their level of involvement in the decision-making process; and patient and physician characteristics that may influence decisions. Results: Discussions were-reported to occur most often at advanced stages of COPD: when the patient's dyspnea was severe (reported by 235 [84.2%] of the respondents) or when the patient's forced expiratory volume in the first second was 30% or less than predicted value (reported by 210 [75.3%]). A total of 120 respondents (43.0%):stated that they discuss mechanical ventilation with 40% or less of their COPD patients before an exacerbation necessitates ventilatory support. Most (154 [55.2%]) described the decision-making process as a collaboration between patient and physician; 83 (29.7%) reported that the patient decides after he or she has considered the physician's opinion. Over half (148 [53.0%]) of the respondents indicated that they occasionally, often or always modify the information provided to patients in order to influence their decision about mechanical ventilation. Conclusions: Discussions with COPD patients concerning end-of-life decisions about mechanical ventilation are reported to occur in advanced stages of the disease or not at all, with patients' input where possible. Information presented to patients is often modified in order to influence the decision. Future studies should explore ways to involve patients further in the decision-making process and to improve the process for both patients and phyisicians.