Chapter 20 – Brain Death Discussions
Abstract In 1959, shortly after the invention of positive pressure ventilation, Pierre Mollaret and Maurice Goulon published the first description of what would eventually be referred to as “brain death”…
CRITICAL CARE
Chapter 18 – The Role of Palliative Care in the Intensive Care Unit
Abstract Originating mostly in the world of oncology, palliative care has matured into a wide-ranging field aimed at improving the quality of life of all patients and their families facing…
Chapter 17 – Care of the Unbefriended Patient
Abstract “Unbefriended,” or “unrepresented,” patients are those who are unable to make their own decisions with regard to their medical care and lack an available surrogate decision maker. As we…
Chapter 16 – Advance Directives
Abstract Advance directives (ADs) are legal documents that provide information on a patient’s preferences for care when seriously ill. ADs include two separate documents: a health-care power of attorney and/or…
Chapter 15 – Shared Decision-Making in Emergent Situations
Abstract Ms. Patterson is a 68-year-old woman with a history of hypertension who was at home when she developed a sudden-onset severe headache with vomiting. She called 911 but was…
Chapter 14 – Potentially Inappropriate Treatment and Conscientious Objection
Abstract The moral ends of medicine established thousands of years ago through the work of historical figures like Imhotep and Hippocrates taught us what it means to be a healer…
Chapter 6 – The Do-Not-Intubate Order
Abstract Mrs. Williams is an 82-year-old woman with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), hypertension, and diastolic heart failure who is admitted to the medical intensive care unit (ICU) with…
Chapter 5 – The Do-Not-Resuscitate Order
Abstract An 81-year-old woman with a history of non-alcoholic cirrhosis, refractory ascites, and previous variceal bleeding was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with septic shock from spontaneous bacterial…
Chapter 3 – Show Me the Data
Abstract Shared decision-making involves using the best scientific evidence available to make a choice together with the patient or their surrogate, while weighing the options against the patient’s values, preferences,…
Chapter 4 – Communication Skills for Critical Care Family Meetings
Abstract Excellent communication is a foundation of shared decision making. As discussed throughout this book, shared decision-making is a collaborative process of (1) exchanging medical and personal information about patients’…
