Putting the "No" in Non Nocere: Surgery, Anesthesia, and a Patient's Right to Withdraw Consent.

[Full article available at http://rimed.org/rimedicaljournal-2017-10.asp].

Should patients receive general anesthesia prior to extubation at the end of life?.

Billings has proposed that any potentially conscious and imminently dying patient who is undergoing withdrawal of ventilator support should be offered general anesthesia to fully protect against suffering. Here we examine whether his proposal is compatible with the doctrine of double effect, a philosophical construct that is generally in accord with the legal requirements for palliative care in the United States. We review the essential elements of the doctrine of double effect, and emphasize the importance of pre-medicating patients before ventilator withdrawal (anticipatory dosing) and of titrating medications to the needs of the patient. The doctrine of double effect requires physicians to balance the risk of the patient suffering against the risk of hastening the patient's deathwhen titrating the medications used to provide comfort. We argue that the values and preferences of the patient should determine how these risks are balanced. We therefore agree with Billings that general anesthesia may be indicated for patients who prefer to minimize the risk of suffering while accepting a greater risk of having their death hastened. This approach would not be appropriate, however, for patients who place a higher value upon avoiding the risk of hastening death, even when this involves a greater risk of potential suffering.

Who should obtain written consent for magnetic resonance imaging under general anesthesia?

Consent for magnetic resonance imaging under anesthesia in children is complex - it does not fit the usual model of consent for invasive procedures and requires the collaboration of multiple specialists from different disciplines. This article discusses the issues surrounding consent for this procedure, sets out four essential elements of the consent process, and proposes that, of the specialists involved, the referring clinician is best placed to discuss the options with parents and obtain written consent.