Rapid withdrawal of support.

care professionals to behold. Nevertheless, the practice continues: one survey of critical care physicians found that 13% preferred extubation as a means of with¬ drawing ventilatory assistance.1 Reducing the frac¬ tional inspiratory oxygen (FI02) to room air (21%) and reducing the respiratory rate to zero over a period of minutes represents a more reasonable approach to withdrawing ventilatory support. IV morphine has a rapid onset and, with the physician at the bedside, can be carefully titrated to control patient discomfort. Among the various arguments favoring prolonged terminal weaning, we most strongly object to the im¬ plication that it increases patient survival. We concede that physicians are not 100% accurate in predicting death and that different physicians make different de-