Documented Family-Clinician Interactions Prior to Palliative Care Consultation Associated With Less Withdrawal of Life-Sustaining Therapy Among Patients With Traumatic Brain Injury

Vikas N. Vattipally, Oishika Das, Jacob Jo, Carlos A. Aude, Kathleen R. Ran, Patrick Kramer, Mazin Elshareif, Ganiat A. Giwa, Jordina Rincon-Torroella, Risheng Xu, Jose I. Suarez, Debraj Mukherjee, Judy Huang, Susanne Muehlschlegel, Tej D. Azad, Chetan Bettegowda, Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Division of Neurosciences Critical Care, Departments of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, and Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine®

Published online on December 30, 2025

Abstract

American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine®, Ahead of Print.
BackgroundTraumatic brain injury (TBI) often requires decisions about withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy (WLST). Palliative care consultation (PCC) plays a central role in facilitating these decisions, yet the impact of family-clinician communication ...