title: Ethics roundtable debate: A patient dies from an ICU-acquired infection related to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus--how do you defend your case and your team?
abstract: An elderly patient dies from septic shock in the intensive care unit. This is perhaps not an unusual scenario, but in this case the sepsis happens to have been due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, possibly related to a catheter, and possibly transmitted from a patient in a neighbouring room by less than adequate compliance with infection control procedures. The family decides to sue. We present how experts from four different countries assess the medicolegal issues involved in this case.
authors.affiliation: Department of Intensive Care, Erasme Hospital, Free University of Brussels, Belgium. jlvincen@ulb.ac.be
authors.forename: Jean-Louis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Vincent
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brun-Buisson
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Niederman
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Haenni
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Harbarth
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sprumont
authors.forename: Mauricio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Valencia
authors.forename: Antoni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Torres
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D007603:Jurisprudence; D008297:Male; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D012772:Shock, Septic / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control