Associations Between Family Member Involvement and Outcomes of Patients Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit: Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Little is known about family member involvement, by relationship status, for patients treated in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Objective: Using documentation of family interactions in clinical notes, we examined associations between child and spousal involvement and ICU patient outcomes, including goals of care conversations (GOCCs), limitations in life-sustaining therapy (LLST), and 3-month mortality.

Methods: Using a retrospective cohort design, the study included a total of 858 adult patients treated between 2008 and 2012 in the medical ICU at a tertiary care center in northeastern United States.