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Background: Health professionals had difficulty choosing the right time to discuss life-sustaining treatments (LSTs) since the Korean Act was passed in 2018., Objective: This study aimed to understand how patients decide to undergo LSTs in clinical practice and to compare the perceptions of these decisions among health professionals, patients, and families with suggestions to support the self-directed decisions of patients., Research Design: A retrospective observational study with electronic medical records (EMRs) and a descriptive survey was used., Methods: The data obtained from the EMRs included all adult patients who died in end-of-life care at a university hospital in 2021. We also conducted a survey of 214 health professionals and 100 patients and their families (CNUH IRB approval no. 2022-07-006)., Results: Based on the EMR data of 916 patients in end-of-life care, 78.4% signed do-not-attempt-resuscitation consents, 5.6% completed the documents for LSTs, and 10.2% completed both forms. LST decisions were mostly made by family members (81.5%). Most survey participants agreed that meaningless LSTs should be suspended, and the decision should be made by patients. Patients and family members (42-56%) and health professionals (56-58%) recommended discussing LST suspension when the patient is still conscious but with predicted deterioration of their condition. The suffering experienced by the patient was considered to be a priority by most patients (58%) and families (54%) during the decision-making process, while health professionals considered "the possibility of the patient's recovery" to be the highest priority (43-55%)., Conclusions: There is still a significant discrepancy in the perceptions of LST decisions among health professionals, patients, and their families despite high awareness of the Act. This situation makes it challenging to implement the Act to ensure respect for the rights of patients to self-determination and dignified end-of-life. Further effort is needed to improve the awareness of LSTs and to clarify the ambiguity of document preparation timing., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Aim: To investigate the incidence of post-intensive care unit (ICU) depression and its risk factors among critical care survivors., Methods: The study data were extracted from the database of the National Health Insurance Service of Korea. We retrospectively analyzed data from 161,977 adult patients who were admitted to the ICU for more than 24 hr from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2014 and survived for more than 1 year after discharge. Risk factors for newly diagnosed depression (Code F32) were analyzed using multiple logistic regression analysis., Results: The incidence of post-ICU depression was 18.5%. The major risk factors were enteral nutrition (odds ratio [OR] = 2.28, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.19-2.36), cerebrovascular disease (OR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.54-1.64), and hemi/paraplegia (OR = 1.48, 95% CI = 1.41-1.56). It was observed that cardiopulmonary resuscitation (OR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.50-0.61) and myocardial infarction (OR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.71-0.79) lowered depression., Conclusions: The incidence of post-ICU depression was high and influenced by ICU treatment and physical impairments. Healthcare providers must pay attention to the psychological changes in survivors with major risk factors in the recovery process., (© 2019 Japan Academy of Nursing Science.)