1. Practices of anaesthesiologists with regard to withholding and withdrawal of life support from the critically ill in Turkey.
- Author
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Iyilikçi L, Erbayraktar S, Gökmen N, Ellidokuz H, Kara HC, and Günerli A
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Decision Making, Ethics, Medical, Euthanasia, Passive ethics, Euthanasia, Passive legislation & jurisprudence, Female, Humans, Life Support Care legislation & jurisprudence, Male, Middle Aged, Resuscitation Orders ethics, Surveys and Questionnaires, Turkey, Withholding Treatment ethics, Withholding Treatment legislation & jurisprudence, Anesthesiology statistics & numerical data, Critical Illness therapy, Euthanasia, Passive statistics & numerical data, Life Support Care statistics & numerical data, Practice Patterns, Physicians', Withholding Treatment statistics & numerical data
- Abstract
Background: To determine practices of Turkish anaesthesiologists with regard to withholding and withdrawal of life support from the critically ill., Methods: An anonymous questionnaire consisting of 18 questions was mailed to 439 members of the Turkish Society of Anaesthesiology and Reanimation., Results: Three hundred and 69 questionnaires were returned (84% response). Over 90% of the respondents indicated that they were Muslim. We found that 66% of respondents had initiated written or oral do-not-resuscitate orders, most frequently after discussion with colleagues (82%)., Conclusions: While a number of similarities were found between Turkish anaesthesiologists and those from other countries, some specific differences could be identified, particularly related to consensus decision-making and sharing information with other providers and the value of Ethics Committees in the decision-making process.
- Published
- 2004
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