Dysthanasia

For practice of prolonging the life of animals, see Dysthanasia (animal).

In medicine, dysthanasia occurs when a person who is dying has their biological life extended through technological means without regard to the person's quality of life.[1] The term dysthanasia means "bad death" (from the Greek language: δυσ, dus; "bad", "difficult" + θάνατος, thanatos; "death")[2] and is considered a common fault of modern medicine.[3] Technologies such as an implantable cardioverter defibrillator,[4] artificial ventilation, ventricular assist devices, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation can extend the dying process. In some cases, cardiopulmonary resuscitation can be considered a form of dysthanasia.[5][6]

  1. ^ de Menezes, MB; Selli, L; de Souza, AJ (August 2009). "Dysthanasia: Nursing professionals' perception". Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem. 17 (4): 443–8. doi:10.1590/S0104-11692009000400002. PMID 19820848.
  2. ^ Kothari, M; Mehta, L; Kothari, V (2000). "Cause of death--so-called designed event acclimaxing timed happenings". Journal of Postgraduate Medicine. 46 (1): 43–51. PMID 10855082.
  3. ^ Batchelor, A; Jenal, L; Kapadia, F; Streat, S; et al. (2003). "Ethics roundtable debate: Should a sedated dying patient be wakened to say goodbye to family?". Critical Care. 7 (5): 335–8. doi:10.1186/cc2329. PMC 270714. PMID 12974961.
  4. ^ Kaufman, SR; Mueller, PS; Ottenberg, AL; Koenig, BA (2011). "Ironic technology: Old age and the implantable cardioverter defibrillator in US health care". Social Science & Medicine. 72 (1): 6–14. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.09.052. PMC 3032945. PMID 21126815.
  5. ^ European Resuscitation Council Guidelines 2021: Ethics of resuscitation and end of life decisions
  6. ^ Clark, J. D.; Dudzinski, D. M. (2013). "The culture of dysthanasia: Attempting CPR in terminally ill children". Pediatrics. 131 (3): 572–580. doi:10.1542/peds.2012-0393. PMID 23382437. S2CID 11611562.