Qualitative futility describes a situation in which the quality of benefit an intervention will produce is exceedingly poor.

What is the principle of futility?

Futility always involves a failure to achieve a medical goal or a per- sonal good. If patients do not benefit in a medical sense, even tem- porarily effective treatments are futile and physicians have a right (indeed a duty) based on the principles of beneficence and nonmalefi- cence not to offer them.

How is futility determined?

Making a judgment of futility requires solid empirical evidence documenting the outcome of an intervention for different groups of patients. Futility establishes the negative determination that the evidence shows no significant likelihood of conferring a significant benefit.