The central clinical relevance of near-death experiences in acute care contexts: identification, prediction, and management
Pascal Michael, Pauline Fritz, Olivia Gosseries, Anne‐Françoise Rousseau, Aurore Ancion, Alexandre Ghuysen, Charlotte Martial
Frontiers in Psychology July 22, 2025 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1544438 via OpenAlex
Summary
Near-death experiences (NDEs), which involve mystical-type content during life-threatening situations, are not well studied in acute medical care. This article argues for more comprehensive NDE research in emergency and critical care settings, citing reasons such as experiencers' awareness of surroundings and the need for patient support due to NDEs' profound psychological impacts. The authors suggest incorporating identification of NDEs into management plans and propose that exploring NDE incidence and their subsequent impact in acute settings may lead to favorable clinical outcomes.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Relevance law Context archaeology Psychology Identification biology Acute care |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key finding | Conducting more comprehensive NDE research in emergency and critical care contexts may unveil a pathway toward favorable outcomes within clinical practice. |
Abstract
Near-death experiences (NDEs), a syndrome of experiences with mystical-type content classically arising in the context of life-threatening situations, are under-researched in terms of their relevance for acute medical care. We here discuss several reasons to raise the importance of conducting more comprehensive NDE research in emergency and critical care contexts, including but not limited to near-death experiencers' awareness of surroundings and the need for patient support given NDEs' profound psychological impacts, and we suggest incorporating the identification of NDEs into management plans. Exploring NDE incidence and their subsequent impact in acute settings may unveil a pathway toward favorable outcomes within clinical practice.