The Darkening Veil of “Do Everything”

“Everything has been tried and his heart can’t recover…”: A Descriptive Review of “Do Everything!” in the Archive of Ontario Consent and Capacity Board

“…In response to the recognized ambiguity surrounding the phrase “do everything” as it appears in the course of medical communication [ 14 ], this study demonstrates two broad conclusions regarding its uses in the CCB archive. First, references to “do everything” highlighted conflicts over quantity versus quality of life.…”

A “Good Death” for Children with Cardiac Disease

“…* No parents who felt their child was free of pain disagreed with the "Good Death" question preferences [19]. Our findings suggest that while 'doing everything' and seeking life-prolonging treatments, pursuing a "good death" can be a parallel goal for children with heart disease and their families [20]. Early ACP can simultaneously encompass curative and non-curative goals, and, where appropriate redirect the end-of-life focus.…”

A scoping review of parental values during prenatal decisions about treatment options after extremely premature birth

“…One perspective can be interpreted differently by different parents and lead to different decisions, so that some will decide to initiate intensive care treatment and others comfort care, based on the same perspective. For example, some parents could believe that everything done means everything technically possible, while others think the phrase means that they simply want to feel that they have done all they could for their child 39 …”

“…For example, some parents could believe that everything done means everything technically possible, while others think the phrase means that they simply want to feel that they have done all they could for their child. 39 The results of this review raise questions about the extent to which feelings and intuitions, rather than explicit deliberations about values, guide the choice of intensive care treatment or comfort care. Themes, such as everything done or hope, suggest that feelings or intuitions may be more important than explicit deliberations about values.…”