Case report: are clinicians obligated to medically treat a suicide attempt in a patient with a prognosis of weeks? J Palliat Med 2012 Jan;15(1):134-7
Date
08/06/2011Pubmed ID
21815815DOI
10.1089/jpm.2010.0530Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84856280769 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 4 CitationsAbstract
BACKGROUND: There is broad ethical and professional consensus that preventing a patient from initiating or successfully completing a suicide attempt is a core physician obligation and justifies the use of aggressive interventions such as emergency detention and mechanical ventilation. This case examines the acute medical care of an individual with a progressive brain tumor after an apparent suicide attempt.
RESULTS: In guiding the care of this patient, we found that the patient's prognosis of days to weeks made the ethical rationale of implementing aggressive medical interventions to treat the sequelae of his suicide attempt less compelling.
Author List
Marks S, Heinrich TW, Rosielle DAuthor
Thomas W. Heinrich MD Professor in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AgedBrain Neoplasms
Critical Care
Humans
Male
Patients
Prognosis
Suicide, Attempted
Terminally Ill