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Ethical Issues in Pediatric Nephrology

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Pediatric Nephrology

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Abstract

A diagnosis of kidney disease impacts a child, their family, and potentially their community. While sometimes acute, kidney disease is often chronic with lasting effects and requiring significant treatments. The complexity and chronicity of pediatric kidney disease raises ethical challenges for pediatric nephrologists, children, and their families. In this chapter, we will provide an overview of the principles of biomedical ethics and the best interest standard and harm principle in medical decision-making for children with kidney disease. We will highlight the unique ethical issues that arise among the youngest patients and adolescents nearing adulthood. Finally, we will consider issues of justice within practice of pediatric nephrology.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The authors practice in the United States, and therefore, the example used reflects practice within that country. Although it is our firm belief that similar issues could be illustrated through other examples set in other countries, we lack the requisite cultural knowledge to do so accurately.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Seattle, WA, USA

    Aaron Wightman

  2. Departments of Pediatrics and Humanities, Penn State College of Medicine, Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital, Hershey, PA, USA

    Michael Freeman

Authors
  1. Aaron Wightman
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  2. Michael Freeman
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Aaron Wightman .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Nephrology, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital –, ROMA, Roma, Italy

    Francesco Emma

  2. Division of Nephrology and Hypertension The Heart Institute, University of Cincinnati Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical C, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Stuart Goldstein

  3. Division of Nephrology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar East, Delhi, India

    Arvind Bagga

  4. Division of Pediatric Nephrology, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Carlton M. Bates

  5. Renal Unit, Graet Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK

    Rukshana Shroff

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Wightman, A., Freeman, M. (2021). Ethical Issues in Pediatric Nephrology. In: Emma, F., Goldstein, S., Bagga, A., Bates, C.M., Shroff, R. (eds) Pediatric Nephrology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27843-3_140-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27843-3_140-1

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