Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

K D O'Rourke

Publications and source records attributed to K D O'Rourke.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Treatment of porphyria cutanea tarda with phlebotomy in a patient on peritoneal dialysis.

Porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) is frequently described among patients with chronic renal failure undergoing hemodialysis. One patient who was receiving peritoneal dialysis and had PCT develop has been described in the literature. However, it was later determined that the patient's PCT was related to the hepatotoxic drug she was receiving rather than her peritoneal dialysis. Our patient is the first reported case, to our knowledge, of a patient with end-stage renal disease with negative hepatitis serology who was not receiving a hepatotoxic drug, or on hemodialysis, who had PCT develop while receiving peritoneal dialysis.

Biopsy, Needle↗
PubMed1995

Healthcare and social responsibility. The revised directives clarify the Catholic position.

The Catholic Church participates in the U.S. healthcare system by reason of its contribution to the common good of society. To facilitate this, the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services set forth certain normative principles. Catholic healthcare is dedicated to promoting human dignity and the sacredness of life; it has an "option for the poor"; it seeks the common good, cooperating with other providers toward that end; it prohibits abortion, in vitro fertilization, contraceptive sterilization, and assisted suicide procedures in free-standing Catholic healthcare institutions. This article focuses on the directives in Parts 1 and 6 of the ERD. Directive 2 calls for mutual respect among care givers. Directive 3 discusses ways to care for people "at the margins of society." Directive 4 describes the medical research permitted in Catholic facilities, and Directives 5 and 9 suggest how such facilities can best perpetuate their Catholic identity. Directive 7 mandates that Catholic facilities treat employees justly. Directive 8 says that such facilities must observe canon law in transferring sponsorship or in founding, closing, or selling an institution. Directive 68 suggests that the bishop be involved in a proposed partnership that may infringe upon Catholic identity. Directive 70 urges Catholic facilities to avoid scandal, and Directive 69 warns that some forms of cooperation are unethical even when scandal is not present.

Aborted Fetus↗
PubMed1995

Safeguarding patients' dignity. The revised directives discuss spiritual and professional considerations.

The Catholic health ministry recognizes that caring for the spiritual nature of a person is a high priority. The rights of patients and residents in their relationship with care givers are also important. These topics are treated in Parts 2 and 3, respectively, of the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Services. This article focuses on those directives. Directive 10 says pastoral care should be available to all persons in a Catholic healthcare facility, no matter their religious affiliation. Directives 12 to 20 are concerned with the reception of the sacraments of baptism, penance, anointing, and communion by Catholics. Directive 21 discusses the appointment of priests and deacons to the pastoral care staff. Directive 23 reminds care givers that respect for human dignity must inform all Catholic healthcare. Directives 24 and 25 discuss norms for responding to advance directives and the responsibilities of surrogates. Directives 26 to 28 are concerned with free and informed consent on the part of patients and surrogates. Directives 29 to 30 say care givers have a moral obligation to preserve a patient's anatomical and functional integrity. Directive 31 discusses the ethical limits on medical research, and Directive 33 discusses therapeutic procedures likely to harm the patient. Directive 34 says care givers must protect patients' privacy. Directive 36 discusses the care of women who have been raped, including treatment that would prevent ovulation as a result of the rape. Directive 37 says ethical consultation should be available to all Catholic facilities, usually through an ethics committee.

Bioethical Issues↗
PubMed1991

The right to know. Ethical issues related to mandatory testing of healthcare workers for HIV.

To prevent transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from patient to healthcare professional, in 1987 the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) put forth guidelines requiring the use of gloves and sometimes masks when treating all patients in exposure-prone situations. Recently, however, the spotlight has shifted as a result of tragic events in Florida when patients of a dentist who died of AIDS were found to be infected with the virus. The question now is whether patients have a need and right to know if a health-care professional is HIV positive. In July 1991 the CDC called for voluntary testing of dentists and physicians who perform "exposure-prone procedures." Also in that month, a proposal in the Senate called for testing all healthcare professionals who perform infection-prone procedures and incarceration of HIV-positive professionals who do not reveal their condition. Later, a similar bill was introduced in the House. Neither of these bills passed, but a joint action by the Senate and House did result in legislation that suggests, but does not require, testing of care givers, following the CDC guidelines or a substitute measure. Professional societies have opposed the CDC guidelines because making a list of exposure-prone procedures would heighten fears, when the risk of transmission is actually small. Also, the guidelines might drive HIV-positive professionals to hide their conditions. Finally, the testing would not be totally effective because of the time lapse between infection and the ability to detect it.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗
PubMed1988

Two ethical approaches to research on human beings.

Since World War II the Catholic Church and national and international study groups have issued separate sets of statements regarding the ethics of research involving human subjects. The Church and the study groups agree on several points, including the following: Research on human subjects is a vital part of scientific medicine. Ethical research requires the informed consent of the subject or proxy. Research on human subjects is therapeutic or nontherapeutic. The risk of harm involved in research must be considered in regard to the potential benefit. Research on human beings should be allowed only after appropriate research on animals. Researchers should practice equity in selecting subjects and scientific problems to be studied. The human subject or proxy should be free to withdraw from the research program at any time. The two sets of statements generally disagree about nontherapeutic research on embryos and about genetic research. They also disagree on the use of in vitro fertilization and embryo transplants to initiate pregnancy. The disagreements are due to dissimilar ethical systems. The Church bases ethical analysis on a study of the effect an action has on basic human goods. As a result of this analysis, the Church maintains that some human actions are good or evil in themselves. If the action is evil insofar as the natural needs and functions of a person are concerned, it is not ethically good simply because it results in a good outcome.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Advisory Committees↗
PubMed1978

Long range planning in the church and in CHA.

The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council designed objectives for the contemporary Church in accord with the signs of the times and based on the Church's ultimate goal as defined by the Council. These Church objectives suggest a set of CHA objectives, or functions, couched here in the language of long range planning so that they might lend themselves to strategy making.

Catholicism↗
PubMed1978

Justice, a goal of coordinated Christian health care.

Different systems will be needed to bring order and unity to the many health care activities existing in American dioceses. Three underlying principles, however, should direct any efforts at unification: (1) the centrality of the parish to the development of health care programs, (2) the lay ministry of the health care apostolate, and (3) the reforming role of the ministry in attempting to change society to obtain justice for all.

Catholicism↗