Citation

Berry P. Alcohol Treat. Q. 2013; 31(1): 129-140.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/07347324.2013.746590

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The decision to offer life-saving organ support, such as dialysis or mechanical ventilation, to patients with alcoholic cirrhosis can be a difficult one. Patients may be confused or too ill to voice their preference, and physicians may interpret recidivism and continued self-harming behavior as markers of poor prognosis. Controversially, such patients may be regarded as less deserving. In this article dialogues that are based on historical interactions between a liver specialist (hepatologist), a dying person with alcohol dependence, and an intensive care consultant are re-created. They explore the issues of deservingness, self-harm and parasuicide, medical futility, public perception, and the motivations behind continued advocacy on the part of attending physicians. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

Language: en

Keywords

human; alcoholism; suicide attempt; treatment outcome; article; long term care; patient advocacy; artificial ventilation; alcohol liver cirrhosis; clinical decision making; dialysis; aggressive treatment; Late stage cirrhosis; physician advocacy; public perception