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. 2024 Jul 1;7(7):e2421711.
doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.21711.

Insurance Type and Withdrawal of Life-Sustaining Therapy in Critically Injured Trauma Patients

Graeme Hoit  1   2 , Duminda N Wijeysundera  2   3   4 , Doulia M Hamad  2   5 , Aaron Nauth  1   6   7 , Amit Atrey  1   6 , Mansur Halai  1   6 , Eric Walser  8   9 , Anton Nikouline  9   10 , Avery B Nathens  5   11 , Amir Khoshbin  1   6
Affiliations

Insurance Type and Withdrawal of Life-Sustaining Therapy in Critically Injured Trauma Patients

Graeme Hoit et al. JAMA Netw Open. .

Abstract

Importance: Withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy (WLST) decisions for critically injured trauma patients are complicated and multifactorial, with potential for patients' insurance status to affect decision-making.

Objectives: To determine if patient insurance type (private insurance, Medicaid, and uninsured) is associated with time to WLST in critically injured adults cared for at US trauma centers.

Design, setting, and participants: This retrospective registry-based cohort study included reported data from level I and level II trauma centers in the US that participated in the American College of Surgeons Trauma Quality Improvement Program (TQIP) registry. Participants included adult trauma patients who were injured between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2020, and required an intensive care unit stay. Patients were excluded if they died on arrival or in the emergency department or had a preexisting do not resuscitate directive. Analyses were performed on December 12, 2023.

Exposures: Insurance type (private insurance, Medicaid, uninsured).

Main outcomes and measures: An adjusted time-to-event analysis for association between insurance status and time to WLST was performed, with analyses accounting for clustering by hospital.

Results: This study included 307 731 patients, of whom 160 809 (52.3%) had private insurance, 88 233 (28.6%) had Medicaid, and 58 689 (19.1%) were uninsured. The mean (SD) age was 40.2 (14.1) years, 232 994 (75.7%) were male, 59 551 (19.4%) were African American or Black patients, and 201 012 (65.3%) were White patients. In total, 12 962 patients (4.2%) underwent WLST during their admission. Patients who are uninsured were significantly more likely to undergo earlier WLST compared with those with private insurance (HR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.46-1.62) and Medicaid (HR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.39-1.55). This finding was robust to sensitivity analysis excluding patients who died within 48 hours of presentation and after accounting for nonwithdrawal death as a competing risk.

Conclusions and relevance: In this cohort study of US adult trauma patients who were critically injured, patients who were uninsured underwent earlier WLST compared with those with private or Medicaid insurance. Based on our findings, patient's ability to pay was may be associated with a shift in decision-making for WLST, suggesting the influence of socioeconomics on patient outcomes.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Nauth reported receiving personal fees from Stryker and grants from the Orthopaedic Trauma Association outside the submitted work. Dr Nathens reported having oversight of data holdings from American College of Surgeons during the conduct of the study. No other disclosures were reported.

Figures

Figure.
Figure.. Assembly of the Patient Cohort
DNR indicates do not resuscitate; ICU, intensive care unit; TQIP, American College of Surgeons Trauma Quality Improvement Program.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

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