Withdrawal of life-sustaining therapies after cardiac arrest

This review explores the intricacies of withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy (WLST) after resuscitation from cardiac arrest, focusing on its key motivators and broader implication for knowledge generation.

When approaching WLST, it is important to balance objective prognostic data with ethical principles and cultural norms to ensure delivery of personalized, patient-centered care. Because evidence guiding prognostication after cardiac arrest remains limited, ethical frameworks are not prescriptive, and cultural norms are variable, WLST is inconsistently applied. This contributes to pervasive biases in research and clinical decision making.

WLST following cardiac arrest is a complex decision. Evidence-based approaches to prognostication have notable limitations and are inconsistently utilized by clinicians. We must account for the effect of WLST to avoid perpetuating biased interpretations of outcome data.