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Despite the moral and ethical enormity of ending life-support for incapacitated patients, most would prefer doctors not make the decision, U.S. researchers say.
Dr. Douglas B. White of the University of Pittsburgh says a study shows more than half of surrogate decision makers prefer to have full authority over the life and death choice than to share or cede that power to physicians.
"This report suggests that many surrogates may prefer more decisional control for value-laden decisions in intensive care units than previously thought," White says.
The study involved 230 surrogate decision makers for incapacitated adult patients who require mechanical ventilation and who had about a 50 percent chance of dying during hospitalization.
The surrogates were asked to complete two hypothetical scenarios regarding treatment choices for a loved one. In one, the question was whether to withdraw life support in the case that the patient had "no hope for recovery," while in second, the study participants were asked to choose one antibiotic or another in treating the patient.
Fifty-five percent of surrogate decision makers said they preferred to retain control in matters such as whether and when to withdraw life support and had less interest in the technical decision on antibiotic choice. Five percent said they wanted to cede value-laden decisions to the physician entirely.
The study is published online in advance of the print issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
UPI
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