22/08/2016 11h28 - Atualizado em 22/08/2016 11h28

Menino de três anos tem pernas e dedos amputados por erro de diagnóstico

Médicos na Inglaterra achavam que criança tinha amigdalite, mas ela tinha infecção após sofrer queimadura.

Da BBC

Reuben perdeu as duas pernas abaixo do joelho e sete dedos da mão após falha do hospital (Foto: BBC)

Um menino de três anos teve as duas pernas e sete dedos amputados após um erro de diagnóstico na Inglaterra.

O caso teve início quando, em julho de 2015, Lou Harvey-Smith levou seu filho Reuben a um hospital público na cidade de Ipswich uma queimadura acidental com um ferro de passar.

Dois dias depoism ela retornou ao local porque o menino estava com febre alta e dor de garganta.

Os médicos disseram que ele estava com amigdalite (inflamação na amigdala) e receitaram antibióticos.

No dia seguinte, porém, o estado do menino piorou muito.

A mãe ligou para uma unidade especializada em queimaduras no Chelsea and Westminster Hospital para ouvir uma segunda opinião.

Os médicos dali suspeitaram de choque tóxico, uma infecção que pode ser fatal. O problema seria causado por bactérias que teriam entrado pela ferida e estariam liberando toxinas venenosas no sangue de Reuben.

‘Pés novos’
O menino foi levado às pressas para o hospital de Ipswich e, de lá, transferido para uma unidade em Londres.

A essa altura, porém, a infecção já era tão grave que ele corria risco de morrer e seus membros precisaram ser amputados.

"[Reuben] olhou para as pernas amputadas e disse 'os pés ruins já foram, agora traz os novos'", contou a mãe, que tem 41 anos.

Reuben, antes e depois de pernas prostéticas (Foto: BBC)

Ela disse que o menino "aceita (a realidade) e segue sua vida", mas processou o hospital de Ipswich. A instituição admitiu que o choque tóxico era uma “possibilidade significativa” com base nos sintomas da criança e que a amputação poderia ter sido evitada se o diagnóstico e tratamento tivessem sido feitos antes.

“É extremamente preocupante que eles soubessem da ligação entre queimaduras e choque tóxico e mesmo assim não tenham considerado essa possibilidade no caso de Reuben”, disse advogado de Harvey-Smith, Tim Deeling.

Os responsáveis pelo hospital fizeram um pagamento de 50 mil libras (cerca de R$ 210 mil) à família para cobrir gastos temporariamente.

“No processo em andamento, admitimos total responsabilidade por falhas no atendimento de emergência dado a Reuben em julho de 2015 e pedimos desculpas sinceras”, disse um porta-voz.

Segundo ele, a equipe médica recebeu treinamento para reconhecer possíveis sintomas de choque.

O hospital, acrescentou, “está comprometido em garantir que Reuben seja compensado de forma apropriada para que tenha os cuidados, as próteses e equipamentos que precisa pela vida”.

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CEBID - Centro de Estudos em Biodireito

Save the date: November 2 is World Right to Die Day

Save the date: November 2 is World Right to Die Day by Michael Cook | 20 Aug 2016  A Mexican celebration of the Día de Muertos    The World Federation of Right to Die Societies has designated November 2 as World Right to Die Day. The date is already crowded with significant commemorations. Catholics and Anglicans celebrate the second day of November as the Feast of All Souls, when prayers are said for all departed souls. In Mexico, Catholic doctrines embellished with indigenous beliefs have given rise to the Día de Muertos, a festival of death celebrated with great gusto. In the United States there has been an effort to nominate November 2 as National Plan Your Epitaph Day. And the United Nations has designated it as the rather mysterious International Day to End Impunity.

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CEBID - Centro de Estudos em Biodireito

Documentary chronicles history of Dutch euthanasia law

Documentary chronicles history of Dutch euthanasia law by Michael Cook | 18 Aug 2016 |  The Fight to Die from Nan Rosens on Vimeo. A new documentary, The Fight to Die, made by Dutch director Nan Rosens, gives a quick history of the Dutch legalisation from the 1970s. It was partly financed by NVVE, the Dutch right-to-die organization. For supporters of euthanasia, the film depicts the major figures in changing the law as bold and compassionate innovators. For opponents, it gives some insight into the characters and personalities of the leading figures in the movement. Psychiatrist Boudewijn Chabot was one of these. In 1993 he euthanased a woman who was not physically ill, reported his act to the police, and was put on trial. He was acquitted in a lower court and when the prosecution appealed, the Supreme Court found him guilty but refused to punish him. Nearly a quarter of a century later, he makes an interesting prediction:    “A generation of people 60-65 years old is growing up. They are used to ordering or buying illegal drugs for the weekend. The same generation will be 70+ and will also want to face death the same way. You can say that’s not allowed. But let’s teach them and their children that it’s possible in a good way. The film is in Dutch with English sub-titles.

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CEBID - Centro de Estudos em Biodireito

Save the date: November 2 is World Right to Die Day

Save the date: November 2 is World Right to Die Day by Michael Cook | 20 Aug 2016  A Mexican celebration of the Día de Muertos    The World Federation of Right to Die Societies has designated November 2 as World Right to Die Day. The date is already crowded with significant commemorations. Catholics and Anglicans celebrate the second day of November as the Feast of All Souls, when prayers are said for all departed souls. In Mexico, Catholic doctrines embellished with indigenous beliefs have given rise to the Día de Muertos, a festival of death celebrated with great gusto. In the United States there has been an effort to nominate November 2 as National Plan Your Epitaph Day. And the United Nations has designated it as the rather mysterious International Day to End Impunity.

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CEBID - Centro de Estudos em Biodireito

Save the date: November 2 is World Right to Die Day

Save the date: November 2 is World Right to Die Day by Michael Cook | 20 Aug 2016 | A Mexican celebration of the Día de Muertos    The World Federation of Right to Die Societies has designated November 2 as World Right to Die Day. The date is already crowded with significant commemorations. Catholics and Anglicans celebrate the second day of November as the Feast of All Souls, when prayers are said for all departed souls. In Mexico, Catholic doctrines embellished with indigenous beliefs have given rise to the Día de Muertos, a festival of death celebrated with great gusto. In the United States there has been an effort to nominate November 2 as National Plan Your Epitaph Day. And the United Nations has designated it as the rather mysterious International Day to End Impunity.

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CEBID - Centro de Estudos em Biodireito

Save the date: November 2 is World Right to Die Day

Save the date: November 2 is World Right to Die Day by Michael Cook | 20 Aug 2016 | A Mexican celebration of the Día de Muertos    The World Federation of Right to Die Societies has designated November 2 as World Right to Die Day. The date is already crowded with significant commemorations. Catholics and Anglicans celebrate the second day of November as the Feast of All Souls, when prayers are said for all departed souls. In Mexico, Catholic doctrines embellished with indigenous beliefs have given rise to the Día de Muertos, a festival of death celebrated with great gusto. In the United States there has been an effort to nominate November 2 as National Plan Your Epitaph Day. And the United Nations has designated it as the rather mysterious International Day to End Impunity.

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CEBID - Centro de Estudos em Biodireito

California grants assisted suicide to disabled, but not to prisoners

California grants assisted suicide to disabled, but not to prisoners

by Xavier Symons | 12 Aug 2016 |

Following the legalisation of assisted suicide in California, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has proposed regulations that will prohibit prisoners from receiving “aid in dying”.

The regulations, issued for public comment late last week, are intended to prevent prisoners from “accessing aid-in-dying drugs under the End of Life Option Act”. They also prohibit “CDCR employees, independent contractors and other persons and entities from participating in activities under the End of Life Option Act.”

Prisoners are to be provided with “healthcare appropriate and necessary to their situation”, and the regulations are said to “ensure the health, safety and security of inmates”.

The End of Life Option Act states that Californian residents with a terminal illness and less than six months to live are eligible to receive assistance in dying.

Recently an artist suffering from Lou-Gehrig’s disease held a “Right to Die” party in Ojai, CA, before becoming one of the first Californians to end their life under the new laws. Forty-one- year old Betsy Davis referred to her suicide as “rebirth”, and her sister Kelly said of her pre-death celebration that she had “turned her departure into a work of art”. 

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CEBID - Centro de Estudos em Biodireito

Down Syndrome test may lead to a rise in termination

Down Syndrome test may lead to a rise in termination

by Xavier Symons | 12 Aug 2016 |

A safer and more accurate screening test for Down Syndrome is set to become available on the UK’s National Health Scheme, raising concerns about increased termination of babies with disabilities.

The new screening procedure, known as a cell-free DNA (cfDNA) test, detects and analyses fragments of the baby’s DNA in the mother’s blood.

In a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that cfDNA test “had higher sensitivity, a lower false positive rate, and higher positive predictive value than did standard screening”. The false positive rate was just 0.06 percent as compared to 5.4 percent for standard screening.

Doctors are enthusiastic as the test means fewer women will need further, invasive procedures (such as amniocentesis) to confirm initial results. Women with abnormal non-invasive test results will still be recommended an amniocentesis or CVS test as confirmation, but far fewer will be needed overall.

Parents of children with Down Syndrome have expressed concern. In a letter to UK Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, the campaign group Don’t Screen Us Out said that if the NHS funded the treatment it would “result in a profound increase in the number of children with Down’s syndrome screened out by termination”.

Dr Elizabeth Corcoran, of the Down’s Syndrome Research Foundation, said: “We demand Jeremy Hunt halt the roll-out of Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT), and listen to the views of people with Down’s syndrome and their families. Make no mistake, this is will not be to the benefit people of with Down’s syndrome, born or unborn.”

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CEBID - Centro de Estudos em Biodireito

Have embryonic stem cells hit the wall?

Have embryonic stem cells hit the wall?

by Michael Cook | 12 Aug 2016 | 

“Will Embryonic Stem Cells Ever Cure Anything?” is a sceptical headline which you would expect to read in a conservative journal like the National Review or the Weekly Standard. However, it is a bit surprising to find it in the MIT Technology Review, in a profile of Douglas Melton, a Harvard stem cell scientist.

… no field of biotechnology has promised more and delivered less in the way of treatments than embryonic stem cells. Only a handful of human studies has ever been carried out, without significant results. The cells, culled from IVF embryos, are capable of developing into any other tissue type in the body, and therefore promise an unlimited supply of replacement tissue. Sounds simple, but it hasn’t been.

Melton’s specialty is diabetes. Because this is a complex and widespread disease, governments and companies are willing to spend huge amounts of money to find a cure. They will continue to fund embryonic stem cell research – but whether it succeeds is still unknown. 

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CEBID - Centro de Estudos em Biodireito

New euthanasia lobby group launched in Australia

New euthanasia lobby group launched in Australia by Xavier Symons | 12 Aug 2016 |  Influential Australian journalist Andrew Denton has launched a new campaign for assisted dying in Australia, and called on the Catholic Church to "stay out" of the euthanasia debate. Denton, a well-known radio and television personality, delivered a scathing address to the Australian Press Club on Wednesday in which he called for rapid law reform: "To the politicians of South Australia...and to those of Victoria, Tasmania and NSW, who can expect new Bills within the year – I urge you: Do your duty." Denton claimed that the failure to legalise euthanasia in the country was the result of a "subterranean" network of religious politicians and businessmen. "...on the questions that are most fundamental to how we live, love and die, religious belief trumps everything. This is the theocracy hidden inside our democracy." He also used the occasion to launch a pro-euthanasia lobby group Go Gentle Australia. Denton’s speech generated significant controversy. The Australian Christian Lobby slammed the media personality for his misguided claims of a “religious conspiracy”, and for sending a negative message to vulnerable people. Denton also accused Labor shadow minister Tony Burke of stifling earlier attempts to legalise euthanasia. Burke rejected the claims: “Pretending my faith determines my political views hits a pretty clear wall when you consider my support for marriage equality. The claim past debates were driven solely by religion doesn’t explain why many atheists and people such as Lindsay Tanner and Barry Jones held the same view as me.”

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CEBID - Centro de Estudos em Biodireito