Limitation of therapeutic efforts in internal medicine: a retrospective analysis of evolution and determinants (2013–2023) in a Swiss university hospital

The prevalence of limitation of therapeutic efforts in hospitalised medicine patients of our hospital increased during the past decade, with a remarkably large increase in limitation of admission to ICU (7-fold increase) and IMCU (18-fold increase). The main determinants of limitation of therapeutic efforts are older age, metastatic cancer and dementia. Reasons for the lower prevalence of limitation of therapeutic efforts in males should be explored.