Admission criteria and management of critical care patients in a pandemic context: position of the Ethics Commission of the French Intensive Care Society, update of April 2021
Olivier Lesieur, Jean‐Pierre Quenot, Zoé Cohen-Solal, Raphaëlle David, L. de Saint Blanquat, Maxime Elbaz, Bénédicte Gaillard Le Roux, Cyril Goulenok, Sylvain Lavoué, Virginie Lemiale, Emmanuelle Mercier, Chaouki Mezher, Benoît Misset, Gwendolyn Penven, Anne Laure Poujol, Bertrand Quentin, Régis Quéré, Thierry Van Der Linden, Jean Rigaud
Abstract
Intensive care unit professionals have experience in critical care and its proportionality, collegial decision-making, withholding or withdrawal of treatment deemed futile, and communication with patients' relatives. These elements rely on ethical values from which we must not deviate in a pandemic situation. The recommendations made by the Ethics Commission of the French Intensive Care Society reflect an approach of responsibility and solidarity towards our citizens regarding the potential impact of a pandemic on critical care resources in France, with the fundamental requirement of respect for human dignity and equal access to health care for all.