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Futile Treatment-A Review
Lenko Šarić1, Ivana Prkić2, Marko Jukić2,3
1Department of Anaesthesiology, Reanimatology and Intensive Care, University Hospital Split, Split, Croatia. lenko.saric@gmail.com.
Journal of Bioethical Inquiry
|June 22, 2017
Summary
Intensive care medicine aims to save lives and improve quality of life. Understanding ethical principles in medical futility helps healthcare professionals provide compassionate care, focusing on patient comfort and well-being.
Area of Science:
- Medical Ethics
- Intensive Care Medicine
Background:
- Modern medical advancements enable life support beyond previous capabilities.
- The core goal of medicine is holistic patient health, not just organ function preservation.
- Medical futility presents ethical challenges for healthcare teams.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the importance of ethical principles in managing medical futility.
- To provide guidance for healthcare professionals facing difficult end-of-life decisions.
- To advocate for an ethics of care in intensive care settings.
Main Methods:
- Review of ethical principles relevant to medical decision-making.
- Discussion of the role of ethics in cases of medical futility.
- Exploration of the concept of an "ethics of care".
Main Results:
- Awareness of ethical principles can simplify decision-making in medical futility.
- Understanding these principles can alleviate pressure on healthcare providers.
- An ethics of care emphasizes patient comfort and suffering minimization.
Conclusions:
- Ethical principles are crucial for navigating medical futility in intensive care.
- An ethics of care extends beyond life-sustaining treatments to include palliative measures.
- Prioritizing patient comfort and reducing suffering is paramount, even when curative treatment is futile.
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