Abstract
A lot of ethical problems need to be faced by physicians in their dealings with demented patients in the different phases (mild, moderate, severe) of the disease.
Both chronologically and in terms of importance, the first problem is whether to communicate the diagnosis to patients or otherwise.
The way in which this problem is faced has a profound effect on the medical and non-medical decisions, which would be taken with or without the direct consent and participation of the patient.
A recent study carried out jointly by the First Neurological Division of Bergamo's Ospedali Riuniti and the Medical Ethics Center of the University of Chicago shows that US and Italian physicians have very different attitudes in dealing with this topic.
Sommario
Nelle diverse fasi della malattia, dalle più lievi alle più avanzate, i medici si trovano ad affrontare numerosi problemi etici.
Sia in ordine di tempo che di importanza il primo problema è se comunicare o meno la diagnosi al paziente. Da come lo si affronta scaturiranno conseguenze fondamentali riguardanti la partecipazione diretta del paziente alle decisioni che lo riguardano.
Come documenta uno studio al quale hanno partecipato recentemente la I Divisione Neurologica degli Ospedali Riuniti di Bergamo e il MacLean Center di Etica Medica dell'Università di Chicago i Medici italiani e statunitensi affrontano il problema in modo nettamente diverso.
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Tiraboschi, P. Disclosing the diagnosis to demented patients. Ital J Neuro Sci 18 (Suppl 5), 25–28 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02048203
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02048203