A Disclosure About Death Disclosure: Variability in Circulatory Death Determination

INTRODUCTION: Circulatory-respiratory death declaration is a common duty of physicians, but little is known about the amount of education and physician practice patterns in completing this examination. METHODS: An online survey of physicians was conducted evaluating the rate of formal training and specific examination techniques used in the pronouncement of circulatory-respiratory death. Data, including the level of practice, training received in a formal death declaration, and examination components, were collected. RESULTS: Respondents were attending physicians (52.4%), residents (30.2%), fellows (10.7%), and interns (6.7%). Most respondents indicated they had received no formal training in death pronouncement; however, most reported self-perceived competence. When comparing examination components used by the study’s cohort, 95 different examination combinations were used for death pronouncement. CONCLUSIONS: Formal training in death pronouncement was uncommon and clinical practice varied. Implementation of formal training and standardization of the examination are necessary to improve physician competence and reliability in death declarations.