Life support decisions are usually made within 72 hours. Is that too soon?
05/23/24 at 03:00 AM
Life support decisions are usually made within 72 hours. Is that too soon?
Advisory Board; by Daily Briefing; 5/21/24
After a patient suffers a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and is on a ventilator, when is the right time to withdraw life support? A new study published in the Journal of Neurotrauma suggests that doctors and patient family members should wait a bit longer than usual. ... The researchers found that the majority of patients whose life support wasn't withdrawn ended up dying in the hospital anyways within about six days. However, 42% of patients who continued life support recovered enough within the following year to have some level of independence, and a few even returned to their former lives.