At the coalface--medical ethics in practice. Futility and death in paediatric medical intensive care
We have conducted a retrospective study of deaths on a paediatric medical intensive care unit over a two-year period and reviewed similar series from outside the UK. There were 89 deaths out of 651 admission (13.7% mortality). In almost two-thirds of the cases death occurred with a decision to limit...
| Authors: | ; |
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| 格式: | 电子 文件 |
| 语言: | English |
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| 出版: |
BMJ Publ.
1996
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| In: |
Journal of medical ethics
Year: 1996, 卷: 22, 发布: 5, Pages: 279-281 |
| 在线阅读: |
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| 总结: | We have conducted a retrospective study of deaths on a paediatric medical intensive care unit over a two-year period and reviewed similar series from outside the UK. There were 89 deaths out of 651 admission (13.7% mortality). In almost two-thirds of the cases death occurred with a decision to limit medical treatment or withdraw mechanical ventilation, implying that additional or further therapy was considered futile. We highlight this as a crucially important issue in the practice of intensive care. More comprehensive studies are needed to help clinicians derive consensus on what constitutes a futile intervention, and therefore when such an intervention should be withheld. This will help families and society better understand the limitations of intensive care. |
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| ISSN: | 1473-4257 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of medical ethics
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1136/jme.22.5.279 |