THE BIOETHICAL CONTROVERSY OVER TRIAGE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has put public health systems in crisis due to the accelerated increase in admissions to emergency services and intensive care units (ICU). This demand for critical care in a global health emergency has led to the need for triage methods to adequately select the patients most likely to survive the disease with better quality of life and years of survival. However, problematic decisions about triage are not merely a medical matter, but a bioethical decision that involves considering other social criteria to select patients fairly and equitably. These decisions must be deliberate and endorsed by hospital bioethics committees, they should not be taken solely by the health personnel in charge. This article addresses the problem in a general way and refers to the situation in Mexico, based on available data. The use of random and first-come arrival methods at the hospital is questioned for not being the fairest and most efficient in the use of scarce critical medicine resources during this pandemic. It also discusses the feasibility of using, together with medical criteria, the criteria of "social utility", some of which have already been applied in cases of waiting lists in organ transplants, in cases of tie-breaking and to help a more careful selection of patients to increase the number of people benefited in the ICU and the quality of life of the survivors.