Abstract

ALCARAZ-BRITEZ, Adriana Guadalupe. Dysthanasia, a problem for the medical staff. Rev. cient. cienc. salud [online]. 2022, vol.4, n.2, pp.108-111. ISSN 2664-2891.  https://doi.org/10.53732/rccsalud/04.02.2022.108.

"The medical profession is at the service of man and society. Consequently, respecting human life and the dignity of the person and caring for the health of the individual and the community are the primary duties of the doctor". But what are the limit and the conditions to do it? A descriptive bibliographic search is carried out on dysthanasia, concepts, bioethical approaches and possible solutions, including learning about bioethics, palliative medicine and doctor-patient communication. Dysthanasia consists of the exaggerated prolongation of the dying process of a patient, resulting from the immoderate use of extraordinary or disproportionate therapeutic means, bordering on cruelty, therapeutic fierceness. Hippocrates formulated the objectives of medicine: relieve the suffering of the sick, minimize the aggressiveness of the disease and refuse to treat when medicine recognizes that it can´t no longer contribute. The medical staff has the duty and responsibility to inform the patient and the person closest to them about the prognosis of their illness and about the benefits and complications of the implemented treatments. Therefore, we must understand that limitation of Therapeutic Effort is not comparable to euthanasia, to the omission of the duty to help, to the denial of assistance or abandonment of the health service. And learn that everything that is technically possible is not always ethically admissible.

Keywords : physicians; palliative care; palliative medicine.

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