Premonition of Death in Trauma: A Survey of Healthcare Providers

Prognostication in western medicine has traditionally been based on objective scientific criteria, yet providers often rely on a feeling or "sense" based on experience to provide prognoses. In trauma, some providers believe that patients who express a feeling of death are more likely to di...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American surgeon 2009-12, Vol.75 (12), p.1220-1226
Main Authors: MIGLIETTA, Maurizio A, TOMA, Gabriel I. O, DOCIMO, Salvatore, NEELY, Robert, BAKOULIS, Anastasia, KREISMANN, Erica
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Emergency medical care
Expressed Emotion
Fear
General aspects
Health Surveys
Hospitals
Humans
Influence
Injuries
Medical sciences
Mortality
Physicians
Polls & surveys
Prognosis
Trauma
Trauma care
Wounds and Injuries - mortality
Wounds and Injuries - psychology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Prognostication in western medicine has traditionally been based on objective scientific criteria, yet providers often rely on a feeling or "sense" based on experience to provide prognoses. In trauma, some providers believe that patients who express a feeling of death are more likely to die. We randomly surveyed 302 members of the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma regarding patient's premonitions of death (POD). Ninety-five per cent of respondents reported encountering patients who expressed POD. Fifty per cent agreed patients expressing POD had a higher mortality rate. Fifty-seven per cent believe patient willpower affects outcome. Forty-four per cent agreed patients have an innate ability to sense their ultimate outcome after injury; 85 per cent believe patient's POD do not cause deviations from protocols. Most trauma providers have encountered patients expressing POD. Whereas most believe that a patient's willpower affects outcome, they do not believe that expressing a desire to live decreases mortality with seemingly fatal injuries. Providers who have witnessed negative POD believe these patients are more likely to die, however, they do not deviate from treatment protocols. This survey represents the first attempt to understand the magnitude of premonition of death in trauma and the need for future research.
ISSN:0003-1348
1555-9823
DOI:10.1177/000313480907501214