Practices of anaesthesiologists with regard to withholding and withdrawal of life support from the critically ill in Turkey

BACKGROUND: To determine practices of Turkish anaesthesiologists with regard to withholding and withdrawal of life support from the critically ill. METHODS: An anonymous questionnaire consisting of 18 questions was mailed to 439 members of the Turkish Society of Anaesthesiology and Reanimation. RESULTS: Three hundred and 69 questionnaires were returned (84% response). Over 90% of the respondents indicated that they were Muslim. We found that 66% of respondents had initiated written or oral do-not-resuscitate orders, most frequently after discussion with colleagues (82%). CONCLUSIONS: While a number of similarities were found between Turkish anaesthesiologists and those from other countries, some specific differences could be identified, particularly related to consensus decision-making and sharing information with other providers and the value of Ethics Committees in the decision-making process.