End of Life Resources

Return to EOL >> Withdrawal of artificial life support

Welcome to the End-of-Life Resources page; a library of information meant to assist physicians, caregivers, and patients find the information they need to better carry out end-of-life care.  Can't find what you're looking for?  Check back in soon becuse we are adding resources daily to continue populating the end-of-life resource categories. 

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"Fighting On" Deciding how and when to continue care at the end of life New England Journal of Medicine
Fighting on gives a real-life account of the challenges that come with end of life care.  Should care be prolonged?...
# 033 Ventilator Withdrawal Protocol, 2nd ed Medical College of Wisconsin (EPERC)
Introduction:  This is the first part of a three-part series on withdrawing ventilators in patients expected to die....
#230 Using Non-Invasive Ventilation at the End of Life. Medical College of Wisconsin
Background:  Non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV, often called ‘BiPAP’) is commonly used in...
Assessment of Patients' Competence to Consent to Treatment New England Journal of Medicine
This article from the New England Journal of Medicine presents a case study on the challenging scenario of assessing...
Assigning an appropriate surrogate. The American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
This article from The American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care is a case study about a 22 year old man who sustained...
Discontinuation of mechanical ventilation at end-of-life: the ethical and legal boundaries of physician conduct in termination of life support. Critical Care Clinics
Abstract:  End-of-life care in the ICU generally encompasses both the withholding and withdrawal of life support and...
Parental Views on Withdrawing Life-Sustaining Therapies in Critically Ill Children Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
Objective: To broaden existing knowledge of pediatric end-of-life decision making by exploring factors described by parents...
StoryCorps Audio Podcast: “The saddest day of my life was the day my father died.”
In this audio podcast from StoryCorps, Tom Morgan talks to his friend Tracy Ross about his father's death and the decision...
To die, to sleep: US physicians' religious and other objections to physician-assisted suicide, terminal sedation, and withdrawal of life support. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
Abstract:  This study analyzes data from a national survey to estimate the proportion of physicians who currently...
Withdrawal of mechanical ventilation in pediatric and neonatal intensive care units. Pediatric Clinics of North America
Abstract:  Withdrawing life-sustaining technologies requires all of the resources and concepts that the field of...