Forgoing Treatment at the End of Life in 6 European Countries.

Bosshard, Georg; and Nilstun, Tore; and Bilsen, Johan; and Norup, Michael; and Miccinesi, Guido; and van Delden, Johannes J. M. and Faisst, Karin; and van der Heide, Agnes and for the European End-of-Life (EURELD) Consortium, . (2005) Forgoing Treatment at the End of Life in 6 European Countries. JAMA Internal Medicine, 165 (4). pp. 401-407. ISSN 1538-3679

Abstract

Modern medicine provides unprecedented opportunities in diagnostics and treatment. However, in some situations at the end of a patient’s life, many physicians refrain from using all possible measures to prolong life. We studied the incidence of different types of treatment withheld or withdrawn in 6 European countries and analyzed the main background characteristics.