title: Autonomy in adolescent medicine. A framework for decisions about life-sustaining treatment.
abstract: A broad consensus has been reached in the last decade about the appropriateness of decisions to withhold life-sustaining treatment from competent adult patients. The situation in adolescent medicine is not so straightforward. Legal ambiguity in determining competence and clinical difficulty in assessing decision-making capacity make such decisions in adolescent medicine problematic. A framework for making decisions about withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining therapy from adolescent patients is proposed, and cases are given to illustrate the way the framework may be applied.
authors.affiliation: La Rabida Children's Hospital and Research Center, Chicago, IL 60649.
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Lantos
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Miles
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000295:Adolescent Medicine; D001294:Attitude to Health; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D008020:Life Support Care; D008297:Male; D010344:Patient Advocacy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D010358:Patient Participation; D014481:United States