Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1993 Dec;48(12):1027-33.
doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2044.1993.tb07519.x.

Elderly patients' preferences concerning life-support treatment

Affiliations
Free article

Elderly patients' preferences concerning life-support treatment

M J Heap et al. Anaesthesia. 1993 Dec.
Free article

Abstract

The preferences of 118 elderly patients, aged from 70 to 97 years, concerning the institution of artificial ventilation in the event of an overwhelming illness, were investigated using a questionnaire. Most patients wanted treatment if the outcome was likely to be good, but in approximately half, the desire for treatment declined as anticipated quality of life or chances of recovery fell. Forty percent wanted to make the decision about institution of artificial ventilation themselves if mentally competent and 24% wanted to use some form of advance directive if mentally incompetent.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

  • A time to die?
    Byrnes DP. Byrnes DP. Anaesthesia. 1993 Dec;48(12):1025-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2044.1993.tb07517.x. Anaesthesia. 1993. PMID: 8285319 No abstract available.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources