Exam II Flashcards
Six I’s of Suspected Abuse
Irritability Inability Inaccessibility: tardiness, absence Irresponsibility Isolation Incidentals: appearance, complaints
Goals of Medicine
Prevention of disease and injury and the promotion and maintenance of health
Relief of pain and suffering caused by maladies
Care and cure of those with a malady, and the care of those who cannot be cured
Avoidance of premature death and the pursuit of a peaceful death
Means of Medicine
Technical competence
Avoidance of fraud and misrepresentation
Avoid patient harm disproportionate to expected benefit, and minimize indignity and invasion of privacy
Maintain fidelity to interests of patient
quantatative v qualitative medical futility
Qualitative: not improving quality of life; Person lacks conscious awareness so argument is that it does not benefit the patient
Quantitative – statistically will not benefit pt
Substance Use
Occasional use of a chemical substance without developing a tolerance or withdrawal symptom when not in use
Substance Abuse
The use of illegal drugs or the inappropriate use of legal drugs. The repeated use of drugs to produce pleasure, to alleviate stress, or to alter or avoid reality (or all three)
Substance Addiction
Drug addiction is a complex brain disease. It is characterized by drug craving, seeking, and use that can persist even in the face of extremely negative consequences
Informed Consent
- Full disclosure (risks/benefits/alternatives);
- Voluntary;
- Competence;
- Understanding;
- Signed informed consent
“Presumed consent”
Policy of some nations regarding organ donation including Spain, France, Austria, Italy, Norway, and Singapore.
Organs are harvested upon death unless a person specifically requests NOT to donate while living (opt-out)
coma dépassé
Brain Death
Often used as the official definition of death in the United States
Whole brain death (US): Includes cerebral hemispheres and the brain stem
Higher brain death: Cerebral hemispheres only (does not include brain stem)
Classic bedside physical signs of death*
Unresponsiveness
Fixed and dilated pupils
Absence of pulse and respiration
Rigor mortis*
stiffness in death
Algor mortis*
the chill of death
Livor mortis*
pooling of blood causing discoloration
Classic Dx of death*
physical signs
rigor/algor/livor mortis
putrefaction
advanced decomposition
“Irreversible Coma”
Unreceptivity and unresponsivity
No spontaneous movements or breathing
No reflexes
confirmed by two electroencephalograms (EEGs), at least 24 hours apart: absence of cortical electrical activity above baseline
Necessary to exclude the presence of any metabolic state, hypothermia, or drug intoxication
Vegetative State
Severely impaired consciousness, although eyes may open spontaneously.
Eye opening may give the impression of consciousness, but there is no awareness of the environment.
Minimally conscious state
Severe alteration in consciousness, with intermittent, but inconsistent, behaviors suggesting awareness.
may occasionally have purposeful movements, and they may track motions with their eyes or speak.
Persistent vegetative state (PVS)
After four weeks in a vegetative state (VS)
state of partial arousal rather than true awareness
Coma
State of eyes-closed, depressed consciousness from which patient cannot be aroused by stimulus.
presence of brain stem responses, spontaneous breathing (sometimes) or non-purposeful motor responses.
The distinguishing feature of the vegetative state is*
an irregular but cyclic state of circadian sleeping and waking*** unaccompanied by any behaviorally detectable expression of self-awareness
Durable power of attorney for health care
An advance directive that names someone to make medical decisions for a person if in the future he/she can’t make his/her own medical decisions
Living will
An advance directive that tells what medical treatment a person does or doesn’t want if he/she is not able to make his/her wishes known
What are the limitations of living will?
Cannot cover all conceivable end-of-life decisions
Another potential limitation is possible change in the patient’s preferences over time or circumstance