Patient-Family Relationships Archives - Page 3 of 4 - Nova Scotia Health Ethics Network

Category: Patient-Family Relationships

Back to Case Studies

Case Categories

27. Case: Withdrawal of Life-Sustaining Treatment

Mr. Windown, age 82, is admitted to a cardiology clinical unit with unstable angina. In addition to his coronary artery disease, Mr. Windown suffers from disabling generalized osteoarthritis, chronic and progressive obstructive lung disease, and diabetes with associated compromise of his vision and kidney function. The coronary angiography reveals significant blockages of Mr. Windown’s coronary…
View Case Study: 27. Case: Withdrawal of Life-Sustaining Treatment
26. Case: Withdrawal of Life-sustaining Treatment, or Euthanasia?

An ethics request came from nursing staff caring for a patient dying with end-stage throat cancer on acute surgical service. The patient has requested a removal of her tracheotomy and a chance to die as she chooses. She had agreed to try the trach for a while, but is finding it negatively impacts her quality…
View Case Study: 26. Case: Withdrawal of Life-sustaining Treatment, or Euthanasia?
25. Case: A Difference of Opinion?

Mary is a 90-year old woman who has been in hospital several weeks. She has a COPD exacerbation, increasing difficulty swallowing, and pneumonia. She has said repeatedly she is tired of being in hospital and tired of fighting to breathe. She doesn’t want a feeding tube or her IV but wants to be allowed to…
View Case Study: 25. Case: A Difference of Opinion?
24. Case: Changing Care and Care-Giving

Kevin Henderson is an 83-year old man who is hospitalized in an internal medicine clinical unit at the local hospital. Kevin has a variety of serious medical conditions including severe Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, coronary artery disease and advanced chronic obstructive lung disease. He is slowly recovering from a difficult-to-treat pneumonia, which required treatment with intravenous…
View Case Study: 24. Case: Changing Care and Care-Giving
23. Case: Reaching the Limits

Mr. Stanley, a divorced 55-year old journalist with a history of epilepsy, was admitted to the medical ICU after an unwitnessed (presumably prolonged) episode of status epilepticus at home. Investigations, including an MRI study, revealed that he had sustained watershed cortical infarcts and a diagnosis of severe anoxic encephalopathy was made. Mr. Stanley did not…
View Case Study: 23. Case: Reaching the Limits
22. Case: Double Effect?

The following call comes in to the ethics line: “Hi. It’s Celine from Oncology. We have a patient here who is in the end stages of lung cancer and is in a lot of pain. The patient and his family are strongly Catholic. The patient’s pain doesn’t seem to be well-controlled. But the family won’t…
View Case Study: 22. Case: Double Effect?
20. Case: To Treat or Not to Treat

Stan Miller, a retired widower, sustains severe burns covering 80% of his body surface in a house fire secondary to a propane gas leak. He is initially assessed in the ED of the local hospital where he is sedated and intubated without any pre-resuscitation discussion about the seriousness of his thermal injuries and his care…
View Case Study: 20. Case: To Treat or Not to Treat
19. Case: Craig’s Right to Choose?

Craig Renaldo is a 14-year old boy who was recently diagnosed with a right lower leg malignant vascular tumour. Staging investigations have been negative for distant metastases. Craig’s attending medical oncologist, Dr. Purvis, consults a pediatric orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Mendes, who recommends a below-knee amputation. Dr. Purvis concurs with this recommendation given the aggressive nature…
View Case Study: 19. Case: Craig’s Right to Choose?
18. Case: When the “Truth” is Painful

Mrs. Sally Parrot, a 73-year old widow, has mild dementia of a presumed neurovascular type. She resides in her own small apartment in Serenity, a private continuing care community in Bedford, where she receives some assistance with housekeeping, meal preparation and organization of her medications. Sally is actively engaged in Serenity’s structured activities and, in…
View Case Study: 18. Case: When the “Truth” is Painful
16. Case: Shifting Gears

Nedra has been fighting ovarian cancer for 3 years. When first diagnosed, Nedra had surgery followed by intensive chemotherapy. Although it initially looked like she might be moving into remission, things started to change about 6 months ago. Nedra started experiencing some bone pain and it was discovered that her cancer had metastasized. Although radiation…
View Case Study: 16. Case: Shifting Gears

Sign Up For Our Newsletter

[Privacy Policy]

Case Repository

Category: Patient-Family Relationships

Sign Up For Our Newsletter