AGE AND LIFE-SUSTAINING TREATMENT - ATTITUDES OF INTENSIVE-CARE UNIT PROFESSIONALS

Background: In Sweden, the official policy is that life-sustaining tre atment should not be denied because of chronological age. This policy is also emphasised in a recent official report on priority setting in health care. But is this policy accepted among health care professiona ls? Do they consider chronological age relevant when decisions to forg o life-sustaining treatment are to be made? Method: Questionnaire surv ey to physicians, registered nurses and enrolled nurses at the Intensi ve Care Unit, University Hospital MAS, Malmo, Sweden. Results: More th an 65% of the respondents were of the opinion that chronological age p er se influenced decisions about life-sustaining treatment. Fewer, a l ittle more than 40%, answered that it would make a difference to their own judgment about life-sustaining treatment whether the patient is 2 5 or 75 years old. The respondents were also confronted with 10 differ ent factors characterising patients in need of life-sustaining treatme nt. According to a majority, advance directive, decision-making capaci ty, and chronological age should be taken into consideration in these situations. Conclusion: The results indicate that chronological age is used as a criterion when decisions to forgo life-sustaining treatment are to be made in the ICU. Many health care professionals also believ e that chronological age should be used as a criterion. This is clearl y discordant with the official policy in Sweden and other countries, w hich is that age-based rationing is never justified.