PHIL 2025 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Casuistry, Acute Kidney Injury, Cirrhosis
Document Summary
He attempted suicide two years ago and is currently on antidepressants. He has 3 children, one of whom is a physician. He presented to the emergency room with a severe pneumonia. His liver failure had somewhat worsened, and he because of his pneumonia had some acute kidney failure as well (which was assumed to be reversible). He was placed on a ventilator and over a several day course improved to the point where he could be taken off the breathing machine. But it became obvious the following day that he needed to be re-intubated and put back on the machine. When the icu physician told him this, he refused to give permission and stated that he did not want any aggressive measures and would prefer to die. His attending and icu physicians strongly disagreed with this decision and requested and ethics consult because they were certain that with more aggressive treatment he would make a full recovery: description and maxims.
