Withdrawing Life Support

1 March 1995

journal article
research article
Published by American Medical Association (AMA)

Vol. 273 (9) , 738-739
https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.1995.03520330068040

Abstract

Withholding and withdrawal of life support in intensive care units (ICUs) has become the norm rather than the exception in the United States since the mid 1980s.^1,2We are all familiar with the tremendous impact of the Karen Ann Quinlan case in 1976, the report of the President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research in 1983, and the subsequent flurry of position statements from a multitude of individuals and professional organizations (for example, the American Thoracic Society) underscoring the fundamental right of patients or legal surrogates to refuse unwanted medical therapies.^3-5Several clinical studies during the past few years have revealed that 40% to 65% of ICU deaths have been preceded by decisions to withhold or withdraw life support. In some cases, the percentage is even higher.^6,7Health care professionals are responsible for informing patients, families, and surrogates about

Keywords

This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit:

Withdrawing care. Experience in a medical intensive care unit
Published by American Medical Association (AMA) ,1994
Withholding and Withdrawing Life-Sustaining Therapy
American Review of Respiratory Disease, 1991
On the Boundary of Life and Death: The Definition of Dying by Medical Residents
Published by Springer Nature ,1988