Ethical and unethical situacions in the attention of patients with pain and suffering

Abstract

To have pain relieved is a human right and an ethical obligation of health personnel; several situations are classified in this review accord. ing to whether they are ethical or unethical, namely: Ethical situations: 1) to sedate patients when pain has been refractory to treatment; 2) to tell patients and their families the whole truth about their condition. Unethical situations: 1) to let somebody suffer on the basis of ignorance, fear, erroneous beliefs or theologic convictions; 2) to omit the cultural, social, psychological and human dimensions of pain during medical training; 3) to obstruct the easy availability of oploids and other pain-control drugs; 4) to promote only the use of costly paincontrol drugs; 5) to abandon patients with pain because they no longer have scientific Interest; 6) to unnecessarily produce or Increase pain In order to corroborate diagnoses or to obtain scientific results; 7) to deceive pain with placebo administration; 8) not to appropriate adequate resources for pain-control and palliative care.