 |
|
When Everything Is Too MuchQuantitative Approaches to the Issue of Futility
Mark H. Ebell, MD
Arch Fam Med. 1995;4(4):352-356.
Abstract
A obligation to provide futile care, there is no consensus, of which I am aware, regarding a definition of futility. Two quantitative approaches to determining futility are proposed, neither of which involves financial costs. First, based on the number of consecutive failures of an intervention, it is possible to calculate the probability of success for the next attempted treatment. The second method uses quality-adjusted life years to balance the burden and benefit of a specific treatment and to determine the probability of success beneath which the treatment is futile. When applied to the use of in-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation in patients with metastatic cancer, both of these methods confirm the futility of this intervention.
Author Affiliations
From the Department of Family Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, Mich.
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
A Staff Dialogue on Do Not Resuscitate Orders: Psychosocial Issues Faced by Patients, Their Families, and Caregivers
O'Shea et al.
The Oncologist 2002;7:36-42.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Conditions and consequences of medical futility--from a literature review to a clinical model
Lofmark and Nilstun
J. Med. Ethics 2002;28:115-119.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Lessons From Quantifying Futility
Green
Arch Fam Med 1995;4:308-309.
ABSTRACT
|
