First Come, First Served in the Intensive Care Unit: Always?

Because the demand for intensive care unit (ICU) beds exceeds the supply in general, and because of the formidable costs of that level of care, clinicians face ethical issues when rationing this kind of care not only at the point of admission to the ICU, but also after the fact. Under what conditions-if any-may patients be denied admission to the ICU or removed after admission? One professional medical group has defended a rule of "first come, first served" in ICU admissions, and this approach has numerous moral considerations in its favor. We show, however, that admission to the ICU is not in and of itself guaranteed; we also show that as a matter of principle, it can be morally permissible to remove certain patients from the ICU, contrary to the idea that because they were admitted first, they are entitled to stay indefinitely through the point of recovery, death, or voluntary withdrawal. What remains necessary to help guide these kinds of decisions is the articulation of clear standards for discontinuing intensive care, and the articulation of these standards in a way consistent with not only fiduciary and legal duties that attach to clinical care but also with democratic decision making processes.

[Hospitalization by court order: ethical dilemmas experienced by nurses]. / Internação por ordem judicial: dilemas éticos vivenciados por enfermeiros.

A qualitative study aimed at describing the situations experienced and the ethical dilemmas of nurses in the process of referring and receiving hospitalized patients by court order who require admission to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). A partially structured interview was conducted with 10 nurses who worked in the ICU and 10 who worked in the Emergency Room (ER) in public and private hospitals in the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre, Brazil. The data was analyzed following the Semantic Analysis. The results indicated that nurses experienced ethical dilemmas associated with problems of overcrowding in emergency rooms and ICUs, poor specialized technology and orientation as to the benefits provided by law. We concluded that it is essential for nurses to participate in discussions that allow the planning of the different instances that have been promoting this often chaotic situation.