من الأشهر اليوم؟

In a small number of patients, I think doctors cause harm and trauma in the pursuit of a finite amount of extra time
At the very end, Cyril* was terrified of death. A nasty infection had developed in his chest and he was struggling to breathe. All members of the team believed that he had only a matter of days to live. Cyril himself was aware in his more placid moments that his time was nearly up. He was accepting of this and, I believe, would have preferred more conservative treatment. However his daughter, understandably struggling to deal with her father’s mortality, was adamant that we try everything.
Cyril was in his late 80s. Yet at his daughter’s insistence we continued to treat Cyril for his infection and used medicine to help drain fluid from his lungs. He became completely dependent on a machine to force oxygen through his nose, something patients have likened to sticking your head out of the window of a car on the motorway. In light of such discomfort and with the added burden of near total respiratory failure, I believe Cyril’s daughter was asking the wrong questions and we, the doctors, were providing the wrong answers. Continue reading...