Vincent Jean-Louis
Department of Intensive Care, Erasme Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 1070 Brussels, Belgium.
J Clin Med. 2022 Mar 15;11(6):1613. doi: 10.3390/jcm11061613.
Intensive care units (ICUs) around the world have been hugely impacted by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the vast numbers of patients admitted with COVID-19, requiring respiratory support and prolonged stays. This pressure, with resulting shortages of ICU beds, equipment, and staff has raised ethical dilemmas as physicians have had to determine how best to allocate the sparse resources. Here, we reflect on some of the major ethical aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including resource allocation and rationing, end-of-life decision-making, and communication and staff support. Importantly, these issues are regularly faced in non-pandemic ICU patient management and useful lessons can be learned from the discussions that have occurred as a result of the COVID-19 situation.
全球的重症监护病房（ICU）受到严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）大流行以及大量新冠肺炎患者入院的巨大影响，这些患者需要呼吸支持并长期住院。这种压力，以及随之而来的ICU床位、设备和工作人员短缺，引发了伦理困境，因为医生们必须决定如何以最佳方式分配稀缺资源。在此，我们思考新冠肺炎大流行的一些主要伦理方面，包括资源分配与配给、临终决策以及沟通与工作人员支持。重要的是，这些问题在非大流行时期的ICU患者管理中也经常遇到，并且可以从因新冠肺炎疫情而展开的讨论中汲取有益的经验教训。
