procon ethics debate when is dead really dead圣保罗市道德辩论时死了真的死了.pdf

Critical Care December 2005 Vol 9 No 6 Whetstine et al. Review Pro/con ethics debate: When is dead really dead? 1 2 3 4 Leslie Whetstine , Stephen Streat , Mike Darwin and David Crippen 1Health Care Ethics Center, Duquesne University, 600 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15282, USA 2Department of Critical Care Medicine, Auckland Hospital, Private Bag 92-024, Auckland, New Zealand 3Independent Critical Care Consultant, PO Box 1175, Ash Fork Arizona 86320, USA 4 Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, 644a Scaife Hall, 3550 Terrace Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 Corresponding author: David Crippen, Crippen@ Published online: 31 October 2005 Critical Care 2005, 9:538-542 (DOI 10.1186/cc3894) This article is online at /content/9/6/538 © 2005 BioMed Central Ltd Abstract mechanical ventilation and a CAT scan of her brain shows Contemporary intensive care unit (ICU) medicine has complicated massive intracranial bleed. The family is assured she will the issue of what constitutes death in a life support environment. probably progress to brain death but she doesn’t. After two Not only is the distinction between sapient life and prolongation of days in the intensive care unit she continues with gasping vital signs blurred but the concept of death itself has been made ventilations and some flexion to pain in one arm. All other more complex. The demand