Deciding about treatments that prolong life

Sometimes after injury or a long illness, the main organs of the body no longer work properly without support. Your health care provider may tell you that these organs will not repair themselves.

Medical care to prolong life can keep you alive when these organs stop working well. The treatments may extend your life, but do not cure your illness. These are called life-sustaining treatments.

Treatments to extend life can include the use of machines. This equipment does the work of the body organ, such as:

If you are near the end of your life or you have an illness that will not improve, you can choose what kind of treatment you want to receive.

You should know that the illness or the injury is the main cause of the end of life, not the removal of life support equipment.

To help with your decision:

These can be hard choices for you and those close to you. There is no hard and fast rule about what to choose. People's opinions and choices often change over time.

To make sure your wishes are followed:

As your life or health changes, you may also change your health care decisions. You can change or cancel an advanced care directive at any time.

You may serve as a health care agent or proxy for someone else. In this role you may have to make the decision to start or remove life support machines. It may be a very hard decision to make.

If you need to make a decision about stopping treatment for a loved one:

Arnold RM, Kutner JS. Palliative care. In: Goldman L, Cooney KA, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 27th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2024:chap 3.

Shah AC, Donovan AI, Gebauer S. Palliative medicine. In: Gropper MA, ed. Miller's Anesthesia. 9th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 52.

Shreves A, Quest TE. End of life. In: Walls RM, ed. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap e5.



Review Date: 2/3/2024
Reviewed By: Frank D. Brodkey, MD, FCCM, Associate Professor, Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
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