Medical ethics in pediatric critical care

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 12, 2026

Guidelines for Elective Pediatric Fiberoptic Intubation
11:19

Guidelines for Elective Pediatric Fiberoptic Intubation

Published on: January 17, 2011

Alberto Orioles1, Wynne E Morrison

  • 1Departments of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 3400 Civic Center Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.

Critical Care Clinics
|March 30, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Ethical dilemmas are frequent in pediatric critical care but often manageable. Intensivists should utilize hospital ethics committees and national guidelines for proactive, evidence-based care.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
  • Medical Ethics

Background:

  • Ethically charged situations frequently occur in pediatric critical care settings.
  • Most ethical issues are resolved with limited conflict among medical teams and families.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To outline strategies for managing ethical challenges in pediatric critical care.
  • To emphasize the importance of resources and collaboration in ethical decision-making.

Main Methods:

  • Review of common ethical scenarios in pediatric intensive care.
  • Identification of key institutional and national resources for ethical support.
  • Emphasis on communication within multidisciplinary teams.

Main Results:

  • Familiarity with hospital ethics committees and national guidelines (e.g., American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association, Society of Critical Care Medicine) is crucial.
  • Open communication among colleagues and the multidisciplinary team facilitates proactive and collegial management of ethical issues.

Conclusions:

  • Effective management of ethical dilemmas in pediatric critical care relies on accessible resources and open communication.
  • A proactive, evidence-based, and collaborative approach ensures optimal patient care and family support during challenging ethical situations.

More Related Videos

A Modified Sonographic Algorithm for Image Acquisition in Life-Threatening Emergencies in the Critically Ill Newborn11:27

A Modified Sonographic Algorithm for Image Acquisition in Life-Threatening Emergencies in the Critically Ill Newborn

Published on: April 7, 2023

Related Concept Videos

Ethical Issues01:27

Ethical Issues

Nurses are essential in patient care, upholding the ethical principles of their profession and effectively navigating ethical dilemmas. Neglecting ethical issues can lead to inadequate patient care, compromised therapeutic relationships, and moral distress among healthcare workers.
Ethical Concerns in Healthcare:
Ethical Dilemmas I01:17

Ethical Dilemmas I

Ethical dilemmas in nursing are of utmost importance, as they often arise from the tension between adhering to core ethical principles and the practical realities of healthcare delivery. These dilemmas require nurses to navigate complex situations where competing ethical considerations pull them in different directions.
Let us explore some examples to understand the potentially complex moral decisions nurses face.
Take the case of caring for minors, particularly in areas related to reproductive...
Ethical Dilemmas II01:30

Ethical Dilemmas II

Resolving an ethical dilemma in healthcare involves a systematic approach that considers every aspect of the issue, respecting both the patient's needs and values and the healthcare professional's ethical obligations. Here are potential steps to resolve an ethical dilemma:
Ethics and Bioethics01:22

Ethics and Bioethics

Ethics is a philosophical study of moral actions. Ethics attempts to determine what is valuable for individuals and society. It examines the rational justification of moral judgments and analyzes what is morally just, fair, and right. Bioethics is a sub-discipline of applied ethics that analyzes the philosophical, social, and legal issues in life sciences and medicine. Ethical theories serve as a foundation for decision-making and represent the viewpoints from which people seek direction. They...
Nursing Ethical Principles II01:27

Nursing Ethical Principles II

Ethical principles are essential in guiding nurses to fulfill their responsibilities, focusing on the quality of nursing care and decision-making. These principles, including autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice, and fidelity, shape the ethical framework within healthcare settings.
Consider the following scenario, which illustrates how these principles are applied in the care of Mr. John, a fifty-year-old teacher diagnosed with metastatic liver cancer.
Initially, Mr. John's cancer...
Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Excretion01:26

Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Excretion

In pediatric medicine, understanding the renal function and drug elimination nuances is crucial for administering safe and effective treatments. Newborns, in particular, display markedly slower renal functions than adults, profoundly affecting how drugs are cleared from their bodies. This slower drug clearance requires clinicians to extend the dosing intervals for many medications to prevent drug accumulation and toxicity while ensuring therapeutic efficacy.One key area where these adjustments...