Abstract

Strong recommendations for research to improve end-of-life care were made. The jury advocates a shared approach to end-of-life decision-making involving the caregiver team and patient surrogates. Respect for patient autonomy and the intention to honor decisions to decline unwanted treatments should be conveyed to the family. The process is one of negotiation, and the outcome will be determined by the personalities and beliefs of the participants. Ultimately, it is the attending physician's responsibility, as leader of the team, to decide on the reasonableness of the planned action. If a conflict cannot be resolved, an ethics consultation may be helpful. The patient must be assured of a pain-free death. The jury subscribes to the moral and legal principles that prohibit administering treatments specifically designed to hasten death. The patient must be given sufficient analgesia to alleviate pain and distress; if such analgesia hastens death, this "double-effect" should not detract from the primary aim to ensure comfort.

Keywords

MedicineExecutive summaryStatement (logic)End-of-life careIntensive careIntensive care medicineNursingPalliative care

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Publication Info

Year
2004
Type
review
Volume
32
Issue
8
Pages
1781-1784
Citations
221
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Closed

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Bruce Thompson, Peter N. Cox, Massimo Antonelli et al. (2004). Challenges in End-of-Life Care in the ICU: Statement of the 5th International Consensus Conference in Critical Care: Brussels, Belgium, April 2003: Executive Summary. Critical Care Medicine , 32 (8) , 1781-1784. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ccm.0000126895.66850.14

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DOI
10.1097/01.ccm.0000126895.66850.14