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Life support, in medicine is a broad term that applies to any therapy used to sustain a patients life while they are critically ill or injured. There are many therapies and techniques that may be used by clinicians to achieve the goal of sustaining life. Some examples include:
These techniques are applied most commonly in the Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit and, Operating Rooms. As various life support technologies have improved and evolved they are used increasingly outside of the hospital environment. For example a patient who requires a ventilator for survival are commonly discharged home with these devices. Another example includes the now ubiquitous presence of Automated external defibrillator in public venues which allow lay people to deliver life support in a prehospital environment. The ultimate goals of life support depend on the specific patient situation. Typically life support is used to sustain life while the underlying injury or illness is being treated or evaluated for prognosis. Life support techniques may also be used indefinitely if the underlying medical condition cannot be corrected but a reasonable quality of life can still be expected. From Wikipedia under the
GNU Free Documentation License How long can a person be on life support before they switch the machine off? Q. I am writing a story and am not sure how long (minimum) a person has to be on life support before they switch off the machine? Asked by Monique - Mon Oct 19 19:45:11 2009 - - 2 Answers - 0 Comments A. They can be on there for any amount of time. The determination isn't how long they've been on there, but what their chances of ever recovering are. If their brain activity is undetectible, and they're for all intents and purposes dead, they can be taken off at any time with a spouse's or parent's consent. Answered by Jayeffo - Mon Oct 19 20:13:40 2009 Is it right to turn off a persons life support, if their is no chance of them waking up according to doctors? Q. Would it be ok to turn off a persons life support machine if doctors were saying that their isn't a chance of them waking up?. Also does it matter if the money comes from taxes or should it be paid by the government? Does it make a difference depending on the patients age? And do we keep a person on because everyone has the right to life or do we judge whether they should have it turned off because of their criminal record? Asked by Emily H - Thu Feb 14 17:12:49 2008 - - 7 Answers - 0 Comments A. A few Qs in one here...My view is that if all indications are that the person is "brain dead" there is no hope of survival and the machine should be switched off. The government has no money, only taxpayers money so that Q is void. Age is irrelevent, if all indications again show the individual is brain dead then the machine should be switched off. The only criteria for switching off the machine is when brain death has been established, nothing else need be taken into consideration in my view, all attempts should be made to save life, when that has failed it has failed, switch off. Answered by Willow - Thu Feb 14 17:29:18 2008 What does that mean if a person is on life support?
Q. Does that mean that he/she is dead? My friend is crying because a guy she used to work with is in th hospital & on life support. & how long if you're on life support before you actually die? & if you ARE already dead if you're on life support, why is there such thing? Why can't they just let you die? & not suffer anymore. This man looked very skinny & was walking wobbly & couldn't keep his balance. I know he drinks a lot & has liver problems. & also he's a heavy smoker. Should we say farewell & RIP already? He's a very mean-spirited guy, but I will miss him. Asked by Question Queen ? - Sun Jul 8 22:28:43 2007 - - 5 Answers - 0 Comments A. Life support means that the person could not sustain life on his own without the help of one or more machine. It does not necessarily mean that he is already dead; though someone CAN be brain dead but kept alive on life support. Sometimes the hospital does not mean to NOT let someone die in peace. Many times they think they can save someone with temporary help and it turns out that by taking him off the machine it would kill him. An example was that my father was able to breathe on his own but he was so ill, they put in a tube and machine to breathe for him in order to let his body rest. They didn't want him to work so hard to breathe. This worked and then he got better and the tube and machine was removed. Months later when he was… [cont.] Answered by Patti C - Sun Jul 8 23:18:09 2007 From Yahoo Answer Search: "Life Support"
 examiner.com Sun, 13 Jun 2010 13:34:03 GMT+00:00 Examiner.com AP Photo/Paul Connors For a team which could be considered on life support , the Diamondbacks welcome back an infectious personality and hope catcher Miguel ...  en.wikinews.org Tue, 15 Jun 2010 04:10:13 GMT+00:00 Wikinews The ICRC claimed the blockade has almost totally destroyed Gaza's economy which is kept on life support by an elaborate tunnel system used to smuggle in ... A voyage of life and death Aljazeera.net On Israel, congress still obedient Palestine Note (blog) More ships head to Gaza New Europe The Press Association  guardian.co.uk Tue, 15 Jun 2010 13:01:22 GMT+00:00 The Guardian Trying to keep our industrial civilisation going can only hasten the disruption to our life - support systems. Wind turbines do much more than "spoil the ... From Google News Search: "Life Support" From Yahoo Image Search: "Life Support"  dc-epaper.com unknown Sat, 16 Jan 2010 08:00:00 GM The former West Bengal chief minister, Mr Jyoti Basu, was put on . life support. on Friday after he developed multi-organ failure. His overall condition began deteriorating further after his renal f.  ammoland.com AmmoLand Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:22:46 GM Visit: www.deltawaterfowl.org. Brought to you by - ammo land.COM - Firearms & Shooting Sports News Ammo Land.comSubmit Gun, Ammo and Shooting Related News at Ammo Land.com CRP Is the Cadillac of Conservation Programs on . Life Support. ?  chacha.com unknown Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:32:17 GM Basic . Life Support. certificate is for emergency medical p... From Google Blog Search: "Life Support" |
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