Opzioni e propensioni di un campione di medici "interventisti" riguardo al consenso dei malati terminali circa l'attuazione e la sospensione delle cure in casi eticamente problematici (il questionario Ethicatt)

Attitudes of intensive care units (1.C.U.) doctors toward end of life practices were assessed by using the Ethicatt Ouestionnaire-Doctor, a 48-items instrument. approved by the S° Framework Programme of the Europe an Commission on the theme «Life and death in intensive care units in Europe. The ethics of decision making about end of life». Thestudy was conducted in collaboration with the Fa- culty ofSociology of the University «La Sapienza» of Rome, Italy. Items regarding informed consent were evaluated in order to measure the level of the spondent's agreement with decisions of withdrawing or withholding treatments to critically ill patients. Results show that also in IItaly ICU doctors take more and more into account patients opinion and that the use of a living wIll could be of great help in decision-making about end of life.