| ProfilPigilito says....PhotosBlogListes | Aide |
|
11 avril Belguim doctors and unilateral end of life decisionsIt looks as though the Gronigen Protocol, which specifically requires consent from both parents before physicians withhold treatment or otherwise end a neonate's or infant's life, is not widely followed. Belguim Physicians strongly believe they are required to make unilateral end of life decisions. Here is a summary of the research article in Lancet: Background: Paediatricians are increasingly confronted with end-of-life decisions in critically ill neonates and infants. Little is known about the frequency and characteristics of end-of-life decisions in this population, nor about the relation with clinical and patients' characteristics. Methods: A death-certificate study was done for all deaths of neonates and infants in the whole of Flanders over a 12-month period (August, 1999, to July, 2000). We sent an anonymous questionnaire by mail to the attending physician for each of the 292 children who died under the age of 1 year. Information on patients was obtained from national registers. An attitude study was done for all physicians who attended at least one death during the study period. Findings: 253 (87%) of the 292 questionnaires were returned, and 121 (69%) of the 175 physicians involved completed the attitude questions. An end-of-life decision was possible in 194 (77%; 95% CI 70·4-82·4) of the 253 deaths studied, and such a decision was made in 143 cases (57%; 48·9-64·0). Lethal drugs were administered in 15 cases among 117 early neonatal deaths and in two cases among 77 later deaths (13% vs 3%; p=0·018). The attitude study showed that 95 (79%; 70·1-85·5) of the 121 physicians thought that their professional duty sometimes includes the prevention of unnecessary suffering by hastening death and 69 (58%; 48·1-66·5) of 120 supported legalisation of life termination in some cases. Interpretation: Death of neonates and infants is commonly preceded by an end-of-life decision. The type of decision varied substantially according to the age of the child. Most physicians favour legalisation of the use of lethal drugs in some cases. Scary, but it only confirms what was widely known. I came across an excerpt of this article through Michele Malkin's fine website. Unfortunately, she doesn't provide a link. Here are links to several portions of The Lancet which discuss the results of the study (subscription to Lancet required): Veerle Provoost and colleagues report that more than half of deaths among critically ill neonates and infants in a study in Belgium involved physicians making end-of-life decisions. A Research Letter highlights how the liberalisation of the legal system in the Netherlands has not resulted in an increase in the active ending of life for critically ill infants. A Comment calls for more evidence on the effect of end-of-life care policies and their effects on clinical practice. CommentairesPour ajouter un commentaire, connectez-vous avec votre identifiant Windows Live ID (si vous utilisez Messenger ou Xbox LIVE, vous avez un identifiant Windows Live ID). Connectez-vous Vous n'avez pas d'identifiant Windows Live ID ? Inscrivez-vous Rétroliens (4)L'URL de rétrolien de ce billet est : http://pigilito.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!FCB4CE1B4880E841!308.trak Blogs Web qui font référence à ce billet
|
|
|