Withdrawal of life support often an imperfect compromise
Tuesday, October 7, 2008 - 02:07
in Health & Medicine
Intensive Care Unit (ICU) doctors seeking to balance the complex needs of their patients and the patients' families may make an imperfect compromise, withdrawing life support systems over a prolonged period of time. This practice is much more common than previously believed, and is also surprisingly associated with higher satisfaction with care-at least among surviving family members.