Purpose@#This study aimed to investigate the involvement of
patients who died from
hematologic neoplasms in the
decision -making process surrounding the withdrawal of lifesustaining
treatment (LST). @*
Methods @#A total of 255
patients diagnosed with
hematologic neoplasms who ultimately died following decisions related to LST during their
end-of-life period at a
university hospital were included in the study. Data were retrospectively obtained from
electronic medical records and analyzed utilizing the
chi-square test , independent t-test, and
logistic regression . @*Results@#In total, 42.0% of
patients participated in the
decision -making process regarding LST for their
hematologic neoplasms , while 58.0% of decisions were made with
family involvement. Among these
patients , 65.1% died in
general wards and 34.9% in
intensive care units (ICUs) as a result of decisions such as the
suspension of LST. The period from the LST
decision to
death was longer when the
decision was made by the
patient (average, 27.15 days) than when it was made by the
family (average, 7.48 days). Most decisions were made by doctors and
family members in the ICU, where only 20.6% of
patients exercised their right to make decisions regarding LST, a rate considerably lower than 79.4% observed in
general wards . Decisions to withhold or withdraw LST were more commonly made by
patients themselves than by their
families . @*Conclusion@#The key to discussing the
decision to suspend
hospice care and LST is respecting the
patient ’ s
self -
determination . If a
patient is lucid prior to admission to the ICU, considerations about suspending LST should involve the
patient input.