Using morphine to hasten death is a myth, says doctor
March 2, 2007Using morphine to end a person's life is a myth, argues a senior doctor in a letter to this week's BMJ. It follows the case of Kelly Taylor, a terminally ill woman who went to court earlier this month for the right to be sedated into unconsciousness by morphine, even though it will hasten her death.
Mrs Taylor's request to use morphine to make her unconscious under the principle of double effect is a puzzling choice, writes Claud Regnard, a consultant in palliative care medicine. The principle of double effect allows a doctor to administer treatment that hastens death, providing the intention is to relieve pain rather than to kill.
Evidence over the past 20 years has repeatedly shown that, used correctly, morphine is well tolerated and does not shorten life or hasten death, he explains. Its sedative effects wear off quickly (making it useless if you want to stay unconscious), toxic doses can cause distressing agitation (which is why such doses are never used in palliative care), and it has a wide therapeutic range (making death unlikely).
The Dutch know this and hardly ever use morphine for euthanasia, he writes.
Palliative care specialists are not faced with the dilemma of controlling severe pain at the risk of killing the patient - they manage pain with drugs and doses adjusted to each individual patient, while at the same time helping fear, depression and spiritual distress, he adds.
And he warns that doctors who act precipitously with high, often intravenous, doses of opioids are being misled into bad practice by the continuing promotion of double effect as a real and essential phenomenon in end of life care.
Using double effect as a justification for patient assisted suicide and euthanasia is not tenable in evidence-based medicine, he says. In end of life care, double effect is a myth leading a double life.
Source: British Medical Journal
-
Researchers show benefits of local anesthesia after knee replacement surgery
16 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
-
The brain on drugs: Defining the neural anatomy and physiology of morphine on dopamine neurons
Oct 04, 2011 |
4.8 / 5 (4) |
1
-
Led by advances in chemical synthesis, scientists find natural product shows pain-killing properties
May 23, 2011 |
5 / 5 (2) |
3
-
Better think positive: Pessimism can block therapy
Feb 28, 2011 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
-
Drug that helps adults addicted to opioid drugs also relieves withdrawal symptoms in newborns
Oct 06, 2010 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Engineers build first sub-10-nm carbon nanotube transistor
Feb 01, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (31) |
30
-
Something old, something new: Evolution and the structural divergence of duplicate genes
Jan 31, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
1
-
The hidden nanoworld of ice crystals: Revealing the dynamic behavior of quasi-liquid layers
Jan 30, 2012 |
5 / 5 (3) |
1
-
Stock market network reveals investor clustering
Jan 27, 2012 |
3.9 / 5 (23) |
8
-
Of microchemistry and molecules: Electronic microfluidic device synthesizes biocompatible probes
Jan 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
-
Classical and Quantum Mechanics via Lie algebras
Apr 15, 2011
- More from Physics Forums - Independent Research
More news stories
Study finds that anti-diabetic medication can prevent the long-term effects of maternal obesity
In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting, in Dallas, Texas, researchers will report findings that show that short therapy with the anti-diabetic medication ...
15 hours ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
1
Steroid injections prove effective in treatment of lumbar disc herniations
The use of epidural steroid injections may be a more efficient treatment option for lumbar disc herniations, according to research presented today at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's Specialty Day in ...
15 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Amateur football players not always keen on returning to play after ACL injuries
Despite the known success rates of reconstructive Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) surgery, the number of high school and collegiate football players returning to play may not be as high as anticipated, say researchers presenting ...
15 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Study finds elevated levels of cell-free DNA in first trimester do not predict preeclampsia
In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting, in Dallas, Texas, researchers will report findings that indicate that elevated levels of cell-free DNA in ...
15 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
PRP treatment aids healing of elbow injuries say researchers
As elbow injuries continue to rise, especially in pitchers, procedures to help treat and get players back in the game quickly have been difficult to come by. However, a newer treatment called platelet rich plasma (PRP) may ...
15 hours ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
Walney offshore wind farm is world's biggest (for now)
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Walney wind farm on the Irish Sea--characterized by high tides, waves and windy weather--officially opened this week. The farm is treated in the press as a very big deal as the Walney ...
GPS court ruling leaves US phone tracking unclear
A US Supreme Court decision requiring a warrant to place a GPS device on the car of a criminal suspect leaves unresolved the bigger issue of police tracking using mobile phones, legal experts say.
Europeans protest controversial Internet pact
Tens of thousands of people marched in protests in more than a dozen European cities Saturday against a controversial anti-online piracy pact that critics say could curtail Internet freedom.
Europe stakes billion-dollar bet on new rocket
A pencil-slim rocket is scheduled to lift into space from South America on Monday, carrying a billion-dollar bet that Europe can grab a juicy slice of the market to place satellites in low orbit.
Netflix settlement trims 14 pct off 4Q earnings
(AP) -- Netflix pressed the rewind button on its fourth-quarter earnings after settling allegations that the video subscription service violated a consumer-privacy law.
Navy to begin tests on electromagnetic railgun prototype launcher
The Office of Naval Research (ONR)'s Electromagnetic (EM) Railgun program will take an important step forward in the coming weeks when the first industry railgun prototype launcher is tested at a facility ...