title: Ethical issues in neonatal intensive care units.
abstract: On one hand, advances in neonatal care and rescue technology allow for the healthy survival or prolonged survival time of critically ill newborns who, in the past, would have been non-viable. On the other hand, many of the surviving critically ill infants have serious long-term disabilities. If an infant eventually cannot survive or is likely to suffer severe disability after surviving, ethical issues in the treatment process are inevitable, and this problem arises not only in developed countries but is also becoming increasingly prominent in developing countries. In addition, ethical concerns cannot be avoided in medical research. This review article introduces basic ethical guidelines that should be followed in clinical practice, including respecting the autonomy of the parents, giving priority to the best interests of the infant, the principle of doing no harm, and consent and the right to be informed. Furthermore, the major ethical concerns in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in China are briefly introduced.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Neonatology and NICU of Bayi Children's Hospital and.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: a Department of Neonatology and NICU of Bayi Children's Hospital and.
authors.forename: Xin-Xin
authors.initials: XX
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: b Department of Information , Beijing Military General Hospital , Beijing , China.
authors.forename: Xin-Ling
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000941:ethics; D003142:Communication; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003657:Decision Making; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D015931:Intensive Care, Neonatal / Q000941:ethics*; D059408:Pain Management / Q000941:ethics; D010290:Parents; D028761:Withholding Treatment
keywords: Critically ill infant; ethical problems; life-and-death decision; neonatal intensive care unit