Useless; vain. Treatment, other than comfort care, which will not result in improvement or cure and which could not, in the opinion of the physician (and, usually, consultants), reasonably be expected to result in a quality of life which would be acceptable to the patient.
In clinical practice, any intervention that will not improve a patient’s health, well-being, comfort, or prognosis. The term is used especially in the care of patients at the end of life.