Help

[karenelizabeth]

I am writing an essay on withdrawing care in NICU (it's something I would also like to take back/develop in my home base) and have been searching high and low for a nursing protocol.

Finally I found the "Neonatal End-of-Life Palliative Care Protocol" by Catlin and Carter mentioned in Neonatal Network (2002) 21(4) 37-49 do any units use this or any other similar.

I am quite desperate to find a copy I have tried emailing the authors but the emails wont go as it says it is not a correct email address.

HELP

All help greatfully recieved

Karen

[NicuGal, MSN, RN]

We don't follow any set protocal. We get permission from the parents, ask if they want to be at the bedside when we extubate (we have had a few that said no), extubate them, leave them on the monitor and give them to the parents. We give them privacy with screens and don't allow other visitors in the room during this time. Once the baby ceases to have a heartrate, we listen then the attending comes in and listens. We let the parents bath the baby if they wish. We give them hand prints, feet prints, a lock of hair.

Hope that helps you out.

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

Also pictures without all the tubes, being held by family and then dressed in regular baby clothes in different positions.

There is a recent article in the British Medical Journal about negotiating end of life care with families on a ICU, may have some interesting information for you.

[Anaclaire]

Karen Elizabeth,

I subscribe to Neonatal Network and have the article you mentioned in front of me.

If you'd like me to xerox a copy of it and mail it to you, I'd be glad to do that. The article is way too long for me to type in an email... but I'd be more than willing to copy and send it to you. If you don't want to use your home address, I'd be glad to send it to your hospital or wherever you want.

In reading the article I see where it was reprinted by permission of "Journal of Perinatology, Vol. 22(3): 184-195." If you have access to that journal then I bet you could get the same information that way.

At the end of the article it says:

For further information, please contact:

Anita Catlin, DNSc, FNP

230 Hillside Avenue

Napa, CA 94558

I also see two email address for people wanting to know the names of all the participants used in the protocol development:

[email protected]

or

[email protected]

As I said, I'd be glad to mail you a copy. I'll do anything I can to help anyone help babies and their families! You can contact me by sending me a PM (Private Message) if you wish (by clicking on the little blue box at the bottom of this message that had the "pm" on it.)

Good luck in your endeavors!

Warmly,

Anaclaire