Treatment of severely diseased newborns: a survey of attitudes among Danish physicians.

In order to describe the attitudes towards treatment of severely diseased newborns a questionnaire presenting four fictive situations concerning infants with myelomeningocele, trisomy 13, Down's syndrome and epidermolysis bullosa lethalis was mailed to all physicians employed at obstetric or paediatric departments in Denmark. The questionnaire was designed in two versions, differing as regards the parents' situation and attitude towards treatment in two of the situations. Each version was sent to half of the sample. Of 954 questionnaires 664 (69.6%) were completed and returned. The parents' situation and attitude towards treatment played a role in forming the treatment choice to a significant proportion of the respondents, although the majority seemed to form their decisions independently of this factor. In the situations presenting the infants with myelomeningocele and Down's syndrome there was controversy concerning the level of active treatment, while only a minority would provide active treatment in the two other situations. In the case of epidermolysis bullosa lethalis most respondents would provide morphine in doses that could unintentionally hasten death, while few were in favour of legalizing active euthanasia.