Dr. Shahla Siddiqui was a panelist at a session of the International Anesthesia Research Society Annual Meeting titled “Ethical Dilemmas of Advanced Therapies in the ICU: ECMO and Organ Support for Transplant.” This session on May 2nd explored the dilemmas that occur in the ICU involving critically ill patients and their families when the patient’s wishes may be unknown and decisions need to be made quickly regarding initiating invasive therapies and whether patients may be candidates for organ transplantation. If organ transplantation is not a good option, providers and patients’ families can experience moral distress when trying to determine the next steps. Dr. Siddiqui refers to this phenomenon as the “Bridge to Nowhere” since there are often no options that will lead to positive outcomes.
Check out a complete summary of this panel discussion at the link below: