Withholding or withdrawing care commonly occurs in the ICU. Technological advances have allowed many pts to be maintained in the ICU with little or no chance of recovery. Increasingly, pts, families, and caregivers have acknowledged the ethical validity to withhold or withdraw care when the pt or surrogate decision-maker determines that the pt's goals for care are no longer achievable with the clinical situation.
For a more detailed discussion, see Kress JP, Hall JB: Approach to the Patient with Critical Illness, Chap. 321, p. 1729, in HPIM-19. |
Section 1. Care of the Hospitalized Patient