Apnea testing is part of the protocol used to determine whether a patient is dead according to neurologic criteria. The question is, do clinicians need to obtain consent to proceed?

In a fascinating 15-minute chat, two intensivists, Drs. Patricia Kritek and Robert Truog, discuss that question and another, larger one: what is death, anyway? Their back-and-forth was prompted by a recent debate, published in Chest, between two others —  a clinician and a law professor.

Have a listen, and please leave a comment to help guide future editions.

The Chest article

The New Yorker article mentioned by Dr. Truog