title: Anti-infective therapy at the end of life: ethical decision-making in hospice-eligible patients.
abstract: Clear guidelines addressing the ethically appropriate use of anti-infectives in the setting of hospice care do not exist. There is lack of understanding about key treatment decisions related to infection treatment for patients who are eligible for hospice care. Ethical concerns about anti-infective use at the end of life include: (1) delaying transition to hospice, (2) prolonging a dying process, (3) prescribing regimens incongruent with a short life expectancy and goals of care, (4) increasing the reservoir of potential resistant pathogens, (5) placing unreasonable costs on a capitated hospice system. Although anti-infectives are thought to be relatively safe, they can place a burden on patients and be inconsistent to particular care plans. The current complex, and at times fragmented, medical care often fails to address these issues in decision-making. In many ways, the ethics governing the end of life decisions related to dialysis, hydration/nutrition, and hypercalcemia parallel those of anti-infectives. In this article we articulate important elements in ethical decision-making in the application of anti-infectives for patients who are eligible for hospice care, and we point to the need for prospective studies to help refine particular guidelines in these cases.
authors.affiliation: The Department of Bioethics-JJ60, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 9500 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44195, USA. Fordp@ccf.org
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Ford
authors.forename: Thomas G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Fraser
authors.forename: Mellar P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kodish
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003657:Decision Making / Q000941:ethics; D016527:Drug Costs; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D017051:Hospice Care / Q000941:ethics; D006801:Humans; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute; D008297:Male; D018447:Medical Futility; D018529:Nutritional Support / Q000941:ethics; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000191:economics / Q000941:ethics*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations / Q000941:ethics; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000191:economics / Q000941:ethics; D018570:Risk Assessment; D019452:Terminally Ill; D028761:Withholding Treatment / Q000941:ethics
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents