Skip Navigation
Menu
Letters |1 January 1997

Physicians' Attitudes about Patients in the Persistent Vegetative State

William W. Stead, MD

Article, Author, and Disclosure Information
Author, Article, and Disclosure Information
  • Arkansas Department of Health; Little Rock, AR 72205-3867
×
FULL TEXT
TO THE EDITOR:
I was pleased to see the article [1] and accompanying editorial [2] on the PVS. The paper by Gilligan and Raffin [3] and the essay by Dr. Hansot [4] brought to mind personal experiences with two older sisters, one of whom remained in a PVS for 5 years. During that time, the nursing home insisted on maintaining the flickering flame of life. Her living will and a letter from her long-time personal physician were ignored. They relented shortly after she qualified for Medicaid.
The other sister was on a respirator because of end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that developed after decades of smoking. Efforts to wean her from the respirator had failed three times. She was growing weaker and suffered during her occasional wakeful periods. The young pulmonologist ignored her living will and would listen neither to me, board-certified in pulmonary disease, nor to our niece, a board-certified internist with considerable experience in geriatrics. As in Dr. Hansot's experience, the pulmonologist never returned to the bedside.
FULL TEXT
PDF
Not Available
Citations
Citation

Stead WW. Physicians' Attitudes about Patients in the Persistent Vegetative State. Ann Intern Med. 1997;126:90. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-126-1-199701010-00024

Download citation file:

© 2019

×
Permissions

Published: Ann Intern Med. 1997;126(1):90.

DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-126-1-199701010-00024

1 Citations
CONTINUE WITH LIMITED ACCESS
Annals of Internal Medicine
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×
acp link acp
silverchair link silverchair

Copyright © 2019 American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.

Print ISSN: 0003-4819 | Online ISSN: 1539-3704

Privacy Policy

|

Conditions of Use

This site uses cookies. By continuing to use our website, you are agreeing to our privacy policy. | Accept
×

You need a subscription to this content to use this feature.

×
PDF Downloads Require Access to the Full Article.
Annals of Internal Medicine
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×
Access to this Free Content Requires Users to be Registered and Logged In. Please Choose One of the Following Options
Annals of Internal Medicine
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×