• Georgios Kranidiotis, Julia Ropa, John Mprianas, Theodoros Kyprianou, and Serafim Nanas.
• First Critical Care Department, Evangelismos Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 45-47 Ypsilantou Str, Athens 10675, Greece. Electronic address: a.icusn@gmail.com.
• Heart Lung. 2015 May 1; 44 (3): 260-3.

ObjectivesTo investigate the attitudes of Greek intensive care unit (ICU) medical and nursing staff towards euthanasia.BackgroundICU physicians and nurses deal with end-of-life dilemmas on a daily basis. Therefore, the exploration of their stances on euthanasia is worthwhile.MethodsThis was a descriptive quantitative study conducted in three ICUs in Athens. The convenience sample included 39 physicians and 107 nurses.ResultsOf respondents, 52% defined euthanasia inaccurately, as withholding or withdrawal of treatment, while 15% ranked limitation of life-support among the several forms of euthanasia, together with active shortening of the dying process and physician - assisted suicide. Only one third of participants defined euthanasia correctly. While 59% of doctors and 64% of nurses support the legalization of active euthanasia, just 28% and 26% of them, respectively, agree with it ethically.ConclusionsConfusion prevails among Greek ICU physicians and nurses regarding the definition of euthanasia. The majority of staff disagrees with active euthanasia, but upholds its legalization.Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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