The Critical Care Society of Southern Africa guidelines on the allocation of scarce critical care resources during the COVID-19 public health emergency in South Africa

• Published in: South African medical journal 2020-08, Vol.110 (8), p.700-703
• Main Authors: Gopalan, P.D, Joubert, I.A, Paruk, F, Baker, D, Coetzee, I, de Vasconcellos, K, Dolo, L.M, Levy, B.L, Morrow, B.M, Nel, J.M, Omar, S, Piercy, J.L, Siebert, R.S, Veldsman, L
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: COVID-19; Practice guidelines (Medicine); Professional associations
• ISSN: 0256-9574; 2078-5135
• DOI: 10.7196/SAMJ.2020.v110i8.15000

To the Editor: We thank Singh and Moodley[1] for their detailed commentary on the Critical Care Society of Southern Africa (CCSSA) guidelines on ‘Allocation of scarce critical care resources during the COVID-19 public health emergency in South Africa’ (hereinafter ‘CCSSA 2020’).[2] Their article highlights the lack of a uniform blueprint for triage guidelines across the world. This lack is driven, to a large extent, by clinical ethical decision-making that is confounded by, inter alia, varying clinical experience, diverse personal values, differing legal frameworks, a multitude of guidelines from professional organisations, and unique social contexts. Consequently, guidelines may differ between organisations and between countries.