Recent experiences relating to decisions about resuscitation have raised troubling
questions for physicians caring for patients in a persistent vegetative state (PVS): Do families …

In W v M, family members made an application to the Court of Protection for withdrawal of
artificial nutrition and hydration from a minimally conscious patient. Subsequent scholarly …

The growing diffusion of life support procedures, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation
(CPR) and advanced cardiac life support (ACLS), allows physicians to keep a person alive …

We presently are not really leaving withdrawal of treatment decisions to families and there
are good reasons why we ought not to do so. To see why this is, we need to focus on what is …

Introduction Patients in a vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (VS/UWS)
open their eyes spontaneously, but show only reflexive behavior. Although VS/UWS is one …

The persistent vegetative state (PVS) is a relatively new and rare phenomenon resulting
from advances in medical technology which prevent natural death after the occurrence of …

In recent decades, modern medical technology and resuscitation techniques have produced
new neurologic syndromes of severe, and usually irreversible, cognitive and motor …

This article addresses whether cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and sustained
physiological support should ever be permitted in individuals who are diagnosed as brain …

The advent of defibrillators 1 and ventilators 2 resulted in the ability to sustain
circulatoryrespiratory and other systemic functions in patients with irreversible loss of brain …

We first heard about this case from nurses in one of our intensive care units (ICUs) while we
were conducting an inservice. When the session was over, we discussed it between …