title: Neonatal and pediatric critical care: ethical decision making.
abstract: The current standards for surrogate decision making for children are analyzed in this article. A number of potential pitfalls are involved with this issue, including questions about the child's maturity and competence. The present approach for medical decision making for noncompetent children is the "best interest" standard. In many medical decisions, the "best interest" standard is not applicable and a "rational parent" standard is presented.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Florida Health Science Center/Jacksonville, Florida, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Koch
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003422:Critical Care / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D003657:Decision Making; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D033161:Government Regulation; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015931:Intensive Care, Neonatal / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D007872:Legal Guardians; D033242:Minors; D033282:Parental Consent; D026706:Paternalism; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012945:Social Values; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement; D014481:United States