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. 2021 Jun;27(2):127-132.
doi: 10.1080/20502877.2021.1917101. Epub 2021 Apr 29.

COVID-19 Pandemic Healthcare Resource Allocation, Age and Frailty

David G Smithard  1   2 , James Haslam  3
Affiliations
Free article

COVID-19 Pandemic Healthcare Resource Allocation, Age and Frailty

David G Smithard et al. New Bioeth. 2021 Jun.
Free article

Abstract

The current coronavirus pandemic presents the greatest healthcare crisis in living memory. Hospitals across the world have faced unprecedented pressure. In the face of this tidal wave of demand for limited healthcare resources, how are clinicians to identify patients most likely to benefit? Should age or frailty be discriminators? This paper seeks to analyse the current evidence-base, seeking a nuanced approach to pandemic decision-making, such as admission to critical care.

Keywords: COVID-19; bioethics; critical care; frailty; resource allocation; triage ethics.

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