Making Medical Treatment Decisions for Unrepresented Patients in the ICU. An Official American Thoracic Society/American Geriatrics Society Policy Statement

摘要

: ICU clinicians regularly care for patients who lack capacity, an applicable advance directive, and an available surrogate decision-maker. Although there is no consensus on terminology, we refer to these patients as “unrepresented.” There is considerable controversy about how to make treatment decisions for these patients, and there is significant variability in both law and clinical practice.