Viewing treatments in this light can result in totally different decisions. Some treatment decisions fit easily into one of the frameworks noted above but others will be difficult to categorize. Antibiotics for pneumonia may be such an example. Depending on the circumstance, treatment might entail tubes placed in the neck or chest to deliver the drug, with only a fair chance of success. Or, it might simply be an easily-swallowed pill with a high likelihood of success.
Some people simply wish to avoid uncomfortable treatments that have a low likelihood of success.
Others are adamant that they want nothing that will prolong their lives under certain circumstances. Under the second approach, no antibiotic, no matter how simple, would be permitted, since it would likely prolong life. Special Situations One specific type of treatment deserves special comment. If you are quite certain that there are some situations in which you would not want intravenous or feeding tubes, you should be quite explicit. Authorities differ on whether such a death is unpleasant, but we know that death will be the end result.