National ethical directives and practical aspects of forgoing life-sustaining treatment in newborn infants in a Swiss intensive care unit

Swiss Medical Weekly

Volumn 136, Issue 37-38, 2006, Pages 597-602

  Berner, Michel E ^a,b   Rimensberger, Peter C ^a   Hüppi, Petra S ^a   Pfister, Riccardo E ^a  

^a GENEVA UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS   (Switzerland)

^b Hopital des Enfants Hopitaux universitaires de Geneve   (Switzerland)

Author keywords

Active indirect euthanasia; Death and dying; End of life; Ethics; Futility; Newborn infants; Withdrawal; Withholding

Indexed keywords

BENZODIAZEPINE; OPIATE;

ARTICLE; ASSISTED CIRCULATION; ASSISTED VENTILATION; CAREGIVER; CHILD DEVELOPMENT; CLINICAL ARTICLE; CONGENITAL MALFORMATION; CONTROLLED STUDY; HUMAN; INTENSIVE CARE UNIT; LONG TERM CARE; MEDICAL DECISION MAKING; MEDICAL ETHICS; MICROCLIMATE; NEWBORN; NEWBORN MORTALITY; PARENTAL CONSENT; PERINATAL MORBIDITY; PRACTICE GUIDELINE; PREMATURITY; RESUSCITATION; SWITZERLAND; TERMINAL CARE; TREATMENT WITHDRAWAL;

EID: 33749644537     PISSN: 14247860     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (26)

1. De Leeuw R, de Beaufort AJ, de Kleine MJK, van Harrewijn K, Kollée LAA. Foregoing intensive care treatment in newborn infants with extremely poor prognosis. A study in four neonatal intensive care units in The Netherlands. J Pediatr 1996;129: 661-6.
2. Cook LA, Watchko JF. Decision making for the critically ill neonate near the end of life. J Perinatol 1996;16:133-6.
3. Wall SN, Partridge JC. Death in the intensive care nursery: physician practice of withdrawing and withholding life support. Pediatrics 1997;99:64-70.
4. Barton L, Hodgman JE. The contribution of witholding or withdrawing care to newborn mortality. Pediatrics 2005;116: 1487-91.
5. Van der Heide A, Van der Maas PJ, Van der Wal G, de Graaff CLM, Kester JGC, Kollée LAA, et al. Medical End-of-life decisions made for neonates and infants in the Netherlands. Lancet 1997;350:251-5.
6. Cuttini M, Nadai M, Kaminski M, Hansen G, de Leeuw R, Lenoir S, et al. End-of-life decisions in neonatal intensive care: physicians' self-reported practices in seven European countries. Euronic Study Group. Lancet 2000;355:2112-8.
7. Burns JP, Mitchell C, Outwater KM, Geller M, Griffith JL, Todres D, et al. End-of-life in the pediatric intensive care unit after the forgoing of life-sustaining treatment. Crit Care Med 2000; 28:3060-6.
8. Van der Heide A, Van der Maas PJ, Van der Wal G, Kollée LAA, de Leeuw R, Holl RA. The role of parents in end-of-life decisions in neonatology: Physician's views and practices. Pediatrics 1998;101:413-8.
9. Cuttini M, Rebagliato M, Bortoli P, Hansen G, de Leeuw R, Lenoir S, et al. Parental visiting, communication, and participation in ethical decisions: a comparison of neonatal unit policies in Europe. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed 1999;81: F84-F91.
10. Burns JP, Mitchell C, Griffith JL, Truog RD. End-of-life care in the pediatric intensive care unit: attitudes and practice of pediatric critical care physician and nurses. Crit Care Med 2001; 29:658-64.
11. Arlettaz R, Mieth D, Bucher HU, Duc G, Fauchère JC. End-of-life decisions in delivery room and neonatal intensive care unit. Acta Paediatrica 2005;94:1626-31.
12. Grupo de Trabajo de la Sociedad Espagnole de Neonatologia sobre Limitation del Esfuerzo Terapeutico y Cuidados Paliativos en recien nadidos. Decisions on limiting treatment in critically-ill neonates: a multicenter study. An Esp Pediatr 2002;57: 547-53.
13. Devictor DJ, Nguyen DT and the working group on ethics of the European Society of Pediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care. Forgoing life-sustaining treatments in children: a comparison between northern and southern European pediatric intensive care units. Pediatr Grit Care Med 2004;5:211-5.
14. Zawistowski CA, DeVita MA. A descriptive study of children dying in the pediatric intensive care unit after withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment. Pediatr Crit Care Med 2004;5:216-23.
15. Garros D, Rosychuk RJ, Cox PN. Circumstances surrounding end of life in a pediatric intensive care unit. Pediatrics 2003; 112:e371.
16. Sprung CL, Cohen SL, Sjokvist P, Baras M, Bulow HH, Hovilehto S, et al. Ethicus Study Group. End-of-life practices in European intensive care units: the Ethicus Study. JAMA 2003; 290:790-7.
17. American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Bioethics: Ethics and the care of critically ill infants and children. Pediatrics 1996;98:149-52.
18. Doyal L, Larcher VF. Drafting guidelines for the withholding or withdrawing of life sustaining treatment in critically ill children and neonates. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed 2000; 83:F60-F63.
19. Dehan M, Gold F, Grassin M, Janaud JC, Morisot C, Ropert JC, et al. Dilemmes éthiques de la période périnatale: recommandations pour les décisions de fin de vie. Arch Pediatr 2001; 8:407-19.
20. Swiss Academy for Medical Sciences. URL: www.samw.ch.
21. Swiss Society of Neonatology. Recommendations for the care of infants born at the limit of viability (gestational age 22-26 weeks). Paediatrica 2002;13:27-33.
22. Truog RD, Burns JP, Mitchell C, Johnson J, Robinson W. Pharmacologic paralysis and withdrawal of mechanical ventilation at the end of life. NEJM 2000;342:508-11.
23. McHaffie HE, Lyon AJ, Fowlie PW. Lingering death after treatment withdrawal in the neonatal intensive care unit. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed 2001;85:F8-F12.
24. Van der Heide A, van der Maas PJ, van der Wal G, Kollée LAA, de Leeuw R. Using potentially life-shortening drugs in neonates and infants. Crit Care Med 2000;28:2595-9.
25. Chan JD, Treece PD, Engelberg RA, Crowley L, Rubenfeld GD, Steinberg KP et al. Narcotic and benzodiazepine use after withdrawal of life support. Association with time to death? Chest 2004;126:286-93.
26. Partridge JC, Wall SN. Analgesia for dying infants whose life support is withdrawn or withheld. Pediatrics 1997;99:76-9.