"Shocking" News on Defibrillators in End-of-Life Care

There's no denying that implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) perform a valuable and life-saving service - but could they be doing more harm than good for patients near the end of life?

According to Dr. Nathan Goldstein, the study's author, it makes no sense for ICDs to continue shocking patients when it does not fix the underlying condition. These shocks may result in unnecessary discomfort for patients and unneeded stress and anxiety for family members.

A study published in March 2 edition of Annals of Internal Medicine found that while 97 percent of hospices admitted patients with ICDs, only 10 percent had a policy that addressed deactivation. An average of 42 percent of hospice patients with ICDs had the shocking function deactivated. Fifty-eight percent of hospices surveyed reported that a patient had been shocked within the year prior to the study.

Goldstein and his team recommend that hospices have policies in place to address situations where ICD deactivation may improve the care for patients with these devices. His team also drafted a provided a sample deactivation policy.