Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open (Aug 2023)
Futility in acute care surgery: first do no harm
- ,
- Bellal Joseph,
- Rosemary A Kozar,
- Nasim Ahmed,
- Vanessa Ho,
- Jody C DiGiacomo,
- Tasce Bongiovanni,
- Bryan Morse,
- Michael W Cripps,
- Sasha D Adams,
- Uzer Khan,
- Alexandra Briggs,
- Thaddeus J Puzio,
- Milad Behbahaninia,
- Melissa Hornor,
- Allyson Cook Chapman,
- Jennifer Knight-Davis,
- Alicia Mangram,
- Kristin Pokorney Colling,
- John Hwabejire,
- Adam Campman Nelson,
- Tanya Egodage,
- Molly Price Jarman,
- D’Andrea Joseph,
- Ryan Landis,
- Ida Molavi,
- Tyler Putnam,
- Elizabeth Gorman
Affiliations
- Bellal Joseph
- The University of Arizona College of Medicine Tucson, Tucson, Arizona, USA
- Rosemary A Kozar
- Nasim Ahmed
- Surgery, Division of Trauma, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune City, New Jersey, USA
- Vanessa Ho
- Jody C DiGiacomo
- Tasce Bongiovanni
- Surgery, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
- Bryan Morse
- Michael W Cripps
- Surgery, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA
- Sasha D Adams
- Department of Surgery, University of Texas McGovern Medical School, Houston, Texas, USA
- Uzer Khan
- Surgery, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
- Alexandra Briggs
- Thaddeus J Puzio
- Division of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA
- Milad Behbahaninia
- University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA
- Melissa Hornor
- Surgery, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, Illinois, USA
- Allyson Cook Chapman
- Medicine and Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
- Jennifer Knight-Davis
- Surgery, The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health, Columbus, Ohio, USA
- Alicia Mangram
- Trauma Services, HonorHealth John C Lincoln Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona, USA
- Kristin Pokorney Colling
- John Hwabejire
- Adam Campman Nelson
- Tanya Egodage
- Surgery, Cooper University Health Care, Camden, New Jersey, USA
- Molly Price Jarman
- D’Andrea Joseph
- Ryan Landis
- Ida Molavi
- Tyler Putnam
- Elizabeth Gorman
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1136/tsaco-2023-001167
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 8,
no. 1
Abstract
The consequences of the delivery of futile or potentially ineffective medical care and interventions are devastating on the healthcare system, our patients and their families, and healthcare providers. In emergency situations in particular, determining if escalating invasive interventions will benefit a frail and/or severely critically ill patient can be exceedingly difficult. In this review, our objective is to define the problem of potentially ineffective care within the specialty of acute care surgery and describe strategies for improving the care of our patients in these difficult situations.
