Despite the high cost associated with ICU use at the end of life, very little is known at a population level about the characteristics of users and their end of life experience. In this study, our goal was to characterize decedents who received intensive care near the end of life and examine their overall health care use prior to death. We showed at a population level that a significant proportion of those with ICU use close to death are older, multi-morbid individuals who incur significantly greater costs and die largely in hospital, with higher rates of readmission, longer lengths of stay and higher rates of aggressive care.

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