Goals of Critical Care
The goals of critical care must be viewed in conjunction with the long-term care goals for individual patients, societal views and resource constraints. ICU survival is no longer an ethically or financially appropriate sole goal. It is well established that many patients who survive ICU die in hospital or have long-term functional impairment. When determining appropriate goals of care, more holis
The goals of critical care must be viewed in conjunction with the long-term care goals for individual patients, societal views and resource constraints. ICU survival is no longer an ethically or financially appropriate sole goal. It is well established that many patients who survive ICU die in hospital or have long-term functional impairment. When determining appropriate goals of care, more holistic concepts such as long-term functional outcome or quality-adjusted life years should be considered, and these should be integrated with the wishes of patients and their families, as well as the belief systems in the location of the ICU.
Critical Care Society of Southern Africa Guidelines for the Provision of Critical Care Services in South Africa - Critical Care Society of Southern Africa - Version 1: July 2022