Case Report: Are Clinicians Obligated To Medically Treat a Suicide Attempt in a Patient with a Prognosis of Weeks?

Abstract

There is broad ethical and professional consensus that preventing a patient from initiating or successfully completing a suicide attempt is a core physician obligation and justifies the use of aggressive interventions such as emergency detention and mechanical ventilation. This case examines the acute medical care of an individual with a progressive brain tumor after an apparent suicide attempt. In guiding the care of this patient, we found that the patient's prognosis of days to weeks made the ethical rationale of implementing aggressive medical interventions to treat the sequelae of his suicide attempt less compelling.