[Responsible decisions: a guideline for situations in intensive medical management]

The increasing number of possibilities for active intervention in intensive care medicine facilitates a more and more extensive influence on human life. The question of ethics inevitably arises, and should be considered before a concrete situation arises which leaves no time for reflection. Ethical outlines have to be oriented towards the desired goal; these goals are basically determined by our attitude toward human life. Moral and anthropological concepts should have their function in staff meetings of an intensive care unit, as they clarify the background of our daily decisions. We present a theologically oriented attitude toward human life, where man is regarded as an integral person, a fellow man, and a creature of God. Case reports show clearly the necessity for early development of ethical measures for conflict situations. The dimension of responsibility is a part of the decisions: responsibility must be taken for every act as well as for its consequences with regard to the individual, the social environment, and God. Ethical concepts require credible mediators who do not convert their justified pride in their achievements in intensive care medicine into arrogance.