What do we know about experiencing end-of-life in burn intensive care units? A scoping review.

End-of-life care is a major step in the care provided to critically ill burned patients. Dying and death in burn intensive care units are often preceded by end-of-life decisions, namely forgoing treatment and do-not-attempt to resuscitate. Different dying trajectories were described, suggesting the possibility to develop further studies to identify triggers for palliative care referral. Symptom control was not described in detail. Palliative care was rarely involved in end-of-life care for these patients. This review highlights the need for early and high-quality palliative and end-of-life care in the trajectories of critically ill burned patients, leading to an improved perception of end-of-life in burn intensive care units. Further research is needed to study the best way to provide optimal end-of-life care and foster integrated palliative care in burn intensive care units.