Discussion Guide for the Pecanac Article

The term life support has been used in scientific publications for almost 60 years. Introduced by scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to describe technology that maintains life during space missions, life support was initially defined in the context of critical care as “artificial support systems for failing essential organs … [used for] interrupting the death process in a patient who may have a reversible illness.” Currently, life support is defined as “medications or medical devices … [that] support or replace vital organ function on a temporary or permanent basis.” This evolving definition parallels contemporary advances in critical care delivery that have resulted in improved survivorship of critical illness. Yet, these advances have obscured the meaning of life support. Critical care providers possess an array of resources at their disposal that sustain life, yet it is unclear in which contexts use of such resources constitutes an actual use...