End-of-life decisions, ethics and the law:

Withholding and withdrawing treatment – Case Study 1:Irreversibly non-responsive octogenarian patient in ICU• Mr X is an octogenarian male patient who is for allpractical purposes non-responsive to outside stimuli. Heonly shows occasional signs of rudimentary consciousness,his condition appears irreversible, and he shows no signs ofimprovement. He has been occupying a neurology intensivecare unit (ICU) bed for two years. He receives multiple dailymedications and is given physiotherapy daily, but his limbsremain rigid. He is treated aggressively with antibioticswhenever he contracts an infection. Three specialists visithim on an almost daily basis.• Mr X’s family wants everything done for him. His tophealthcare plan has paid all his medical bills, amounting toover R12 million.18