Association between critical care occupancy and code status decisions during resource scarcity: a retrospective cohort study
Our study revealed a positive association between critical care occupancy and ICU-ineligible code status, suggesting the presence of implicit triaging during periods of high resource strain. This raises several ethical concerns, including the use of non-consensual triage criteria, lack of transparency and the risk of moral distress for healthcare professionals.
Authors
- Olivier Grosgurin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6233-6579)
- Antonio Leidi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3934-0104)
- Thomas Agoritsas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6182-9969)
- Christophe Alain Fehlmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4163-0338)
- Samia Hurst-Majno
- Stijn Bex (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-8793-5724)
- Jérôme Stirnemann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9964-4452)
- Anne Rossel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7367-2340)
- Christophe Marti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2016-6759)
- Jean‐Luc Reny (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7528-7363)
- Lorna Guinness (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1013-4200)
- Jeremy Martin
- Christophe Gaudet-Blavignac (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6527-5898)
Institutions
- University of Geneva (CH)
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (GB)
- University Hospital of Geneva (CH)
- Faculty of Public Health (GB)
- Spitalzentrum Centre hospitalier Biel- Bienne (CH)
- McMaster University (CA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- BMC Medical Ethics
- Published
- 2025-11-03
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-025-01299-x
- Primary Topic
- Sepsis Diagnosis and Treatment
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Université de Genève