Table 4.

Explicit Definitions of Futility in Studies Refuting Claims of Futility

Author	Intervention/population	Definition	Reference to Schneiderman’s threshold	Type of definition	Comment
Azoulay 200141	ICU§ + MV§/cancer	100% mortality	Yes	A posteriori	No mention of denominator component of Schneiderman’s threshold
Finer 199942	CPR§/neonates	"Intact survival is (im)possible"	No	A posteriori
Huaringa 200043	ICU + MV/BMT§	1% survival rate	Yes	A posteriori	No mention of denominator component of Schneiderman’s threshold
Swor 200044	CPR/OOHCA§, elderly	rate of success approaching zero	No	A posteriori
Velmahos 199817	Blood transfusion/trauma	100% mortality	Yes	A posteriori	Does mention importance of denominator as a determinant of uncertainty

§ ICU: intensive care unit, CPR: cardiopulmonary resuscitation, OOHCA: out of hospital cardiac arrest, CE: cost effectiveness, QALY: quality adjusted life year, MV: mechanical ventilation, BMT: bone marrow transplantation