Tag Archives: Ethics

Perpetuating Prejudice against Preterms: 1. Inappropriate simplistic rules are unethical.

Posted on 5 November 2013 by Keith Barrington

Towards the end of last year the Canadian Pediatric Society published a new ‘position statement’. These are official proclamations of the society, supposedly based on the best available evidence to guide practice, and which become de facto standards of care. … Continue reading →

Posted in The CPS antenatal counselling statement | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Preterm Babies are Human Beings Too

Posted on 5 November 2013 by Keith Barrington

The Canadian Medical Association Journal has just published a Commentary by 2 neonatologists from the USA. Batton D, Batton B: Advocating for equality for preterm infants. Canadian Medical Association Journal 2013. The commentary is in response to the CPS recent … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , , | 35 Comments

Brain Death: a fiction that has outlived its usefuleness

Posted on 28 October 2013 by Keith Barrington

It may come as a surprise to some readers that I regard ‘Brain Death’ as a fiction. But brain death was invented by a US president’s commission as a way of deciding that patients were dead when they manifestly were … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Pain research in the newborn, what is ethical?

Posted on 21 October 2013 by Keith Barrington

Annie Janvier’s comment on my recent post made we wonder what are the ethical limits of pain research in the newborn. Let me start with an adult analogy, if a researcher wanted to investigate the efficacy of a new analgesic … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Variation in care for extremely preterm infants

Posted on 7 October 2013 by Keith Barrington

One of the things that is striking in neonatology are the variations in outcomes of the most immature babies. In some centers, and in some countries, when a mother presents with threatened delivery at what the doctors think is 23 … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged | 7 Comments

Not just a diagnosis; a baby, with a family.

Posted on 4 October 2013 by Keith Barrington

A new publication in Acta Paediatrica is written by 3 mothers (Thiele P, Berg SF, Farlow B: More than a diagnosis. Acta Paediatrica 2013 seems to be open access). All 3 of them have previously written about their experiences with … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocating for impaired children | Tagged | 1 Comment

Informed consent in the NICU

Posted on 26 September 2013 by Keith Barrington

I have watched most of the presentations at the OHRP meeting, so you don’t have to. Many of the critics of SUPPORT make the same mistaken assumption, that usual care in the NICU is to individualize oxygen saturation targets, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

C’est inSUPPORTable!

Posted on 19 September 2013 by Keith Barrington

A new publication about SUPPORT? Haven’t we heard enough? Well no, this is fascinating, although not entirely unexpected if you think about it. One of the 2 comparisons of the SUPPORT trial involved randomization to be either immediately intubated to receive surfactant, … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

What are the responsibilities of clinical researchers?

Posted on 18 September 2013 by Keith Barrington

One of the presentations at the OHRP hearings of the HHS was by George Annas, a JD who has an MPH (for those outside of north america that means he is a lawyer, but with a masters in public health). … Continue reading →

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“There is no foot too small that it cannot leave an imprint on this world”

Posted on 16 September 2013 by Keith Barrington

This link will take you to a very touching tribute written by a 16 year old to his little sister. It is a very personal essay, about his love for the girl who died at 6 weeks of age, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocating for impaired children | Tagged | 1 Comment