Hospitals wrestle with extent of Ebola treatment

U.S. hospitals are grappling with whether to withhold aggressive treatments from Ebola patients to avoid further exposing doctors and nurses to the virus. Some facilities have decided they will forgo cardiopulmonary resuscitation or may opt not to pursue invasive surgical procedures on deteriorating Ebola patients. Such procedures can expose health workers to bodily fluids that transmit the disease, and hospitals say in many cases have little chance of saving a patient. The decisions are sparking a thorny debate at hospitals across the country and calls for national guidelines. Facilities are turning to medical ethicists to decide if and when it is appropriate to withhold treatments, a practice that runs counter to many physicians' instincts. [Subscription Required]