title: Ethics, choices, and decisions in acute medicine: a national survey of Norwegian physicians' attitudes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the attitudes of Norwegian physicians to resuscitation of hypothetical patients all at risk of neurological sequelae.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mail-based survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cohort of Norwegian physicians who are representative of the national physician corps.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 1650 Norwegian physicians (7% of practicing physicians in Norway) received a written questionnaire describing six scenarios of patients all in need of emergency life-saving intervention. Respondents were asked whether they would resuscitate; whether such resuscitation was in the patient's best interest; whether a surrogate's refusal of intervention would be accepted; and whether they would have wanted resuscitation if the patient were their own child, their spouse, or themselves. Positive or negative responses on a four-point Likert scale were recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 1,069 respondents (response rate, 65%). Physicians responding to these scenarios were a) more inclined to resuscitate an anonymous patient than if the patient were themselves or their kin; b) willing to resuscitate although they do not consider this intervention to be in the patient's best interest; c) willing to refrain from resuscitation on surrogate request in spite of a reasonably good prognosis; d) willing to accept surrogate's refusal of resuscitation in spite of a stated opinion that such intervention would be in the patient's best interest; and e) less willing to resuscitate newborn infants compared with older children and adults (except the aged) with similar prognoses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There appear to be differences in medical thinking about best interest, surrogate decision making, and the relative value of lives as far as these are applied to acute, life-saving treatment.
authors: Department of Neonatology, Women & Children's Division, Oslo University Hospital-Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway. t.w.r.hansen@medisin.uio.no
authors: Thor W R
authors: TW
authors: Hansen
authors: Annie
authors: A
authors: Janvier
authors: Olaf
authors: O
authors: Aasland
authors: Reidun
authors: R
authors: Førde
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000628:therapy; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001921:Brain / Q000002:abnormalities; D020201:Brain Hemorrhage, Traumatic / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D003657:Decision Making / Q000941:ethics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D018447:Medical Futility / Q000941:ethics; D008581:Meningitis / Q000628:therapy; D008875:Middle Aged; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D009664:Norway; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000628:therapy; D011788:Quality of Life; D016414:Resuscitation Orders / Q000941:ethics*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D028761:Withholding Treatment / Q000941:ethics*