Charles L Sprung1, Fathima Paruk2, Niranjan Kissoon3, Christiane S Hartog4, Jeffrey Lipman5, Bin Du6, Andrew Argent7, R Eric Hodgson8, Bertrand Guidet9, A B Johan Groeneveld10, Charles Feldman11. 1. Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel. Electronic address: charless@ekmd.huji.ac.il. 2. Division of Critical Care, Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital and Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. 3. Department of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine, Children's Hospital and Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children, University British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 4. Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Center for Sepsis Control and Care, Jena, Germany. 5. Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital and The University of Queensland, Herston, Queensland, Australia. 6. Medical Intensive Care Unit, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China. 7. School of Child and Adolescent Health, University of Cape Town and Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa. 8. Department of Anaesthesia and Critical Care, Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, University of KwaZulu-Natal eThekwini-Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. 9. Service de réanimation médicale, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Saint-Antoine, Paris, France. 10. Department of Intensive Care, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. 11. Division of Pulmonology, Department of Internal Medicine, Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital and Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Withholding life-sustaining treatments (WHLST) and withdrawing life-sustaining treatments (WDLST) occur in most intensive care units (ICUs) around the world to varying degrees. METHODS: Speakers from invited faculty of the World Federation of Societies of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine Congress in 2013 with an interest in ethics were approached to participate in an ethics round table. Participants were asked if they agreed with the statement "There is no moral difference between withholding and withdrawing a mechanical ventilator." Differences between WHLST and WDLST were discussed. Official statements relating to WHLST and WDLST from intensive care societies, professional bodies, and government statements were sourced, documented, and compared. RESULTS: Sixteen respondents stated that there was no moral difference between withholding or withdrawing a mechanical ventilator, 2 were neutral, and 4 stated that there was a difference. Most ethicists and medical organizations state that there is no moral difference between WHLST and WDLST. A review of guidelines noted that all but 1 of 29 considered WHLST and WDLST as ethically or legally equivalent. CONCLUSIONS: Most respondents, practicing intensivists, stated that there is no difference between WHLST and WDLST, supporting most ethicists and professional organizations. A minority of physicians still do not accept their equivalency.
INTRODUCTION: Withholding life-sustaining treatments (WHLST) and withdrawing life-sustaining treatments (WDLST) occur in most intensive care units (ICUs) around the world to varying degrees. METHODS: Speakers from invited faculty of the World Federation of Societies of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine Congress in 2013 with an interest in ethics were approached to participate in an ethics round table. Participants were asked if they agreed with the statement "There is no moral difference between withholding and withdrawing a mechanical ventilator." Differences between WHLST and WDLST were discussed. Official statements relating to WHLST and WDLST from intensive care societies, professional bodies, and government statements were sourced, documented, and compared. RESULTS: Sixteen respondents stated that there was no moral difference between withholding or withdrawing a mechanical ventilator, 2 were neutral, and 4 stated that there was a difference. Most ethicists and medical organizations state that there is no moral difference between WHLST and WDLST. A review of guidelines noted that all but 1 of 29 considered WHLST and WDLST as ethically or legally equivalent. CONCLUSIONS: Most respondents, practicing intensivists, stated that there is no difference between WHLST and WDLST, supporting most ethicists and professional organizations. A minority of physicians still do not accept their equivalency.