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N Fost

Publications and source records attributed to N Fost.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Ethical issues in genetics.

Clinical genetics encompasses all ethical issues in medicine and health care. Geneticists, like all health care practitioners, regularly encounter problems of truth telling, paternalism, confidentiality, and rationing. The facts and circumstances under which familial ethical questions arise differ among specialties, but the underlying ethical questions cut across disciplines. The purpose of this article is to provide a review of the ethical issues that commonly arise in the clinical practice of genetics. Accordingly, the goal is primarily to identify common positions and justifications for various approaches as well as to identify consensus where they seem to exist.

Directed Tissue Donation↗
PubMed1992

Ethical implications of screening asymptomatic individuals.

There has been a long-standing consensus on the principles that should guide screening asymptomatic individuals whether for treatment, counseling, or research. Advances in molecular biology will increase the rate of new opportunities for such screening. The benefits and risks, for individuals as well as the public health, will vary with each new test. As with all new technologies, these benefits and risks will have to be assessed in well-designed and well-reviewed studies if individuals are to be allowed to make informed decisions regarding whether or not to be tested.

Anemia, Sickle Cell↗
PubMed1992

Ethical dilemmas in child and adolescent consultation psychiatry.

Ethical issues in child and adolescent psychiatry consultation arise frequently but seldom are discussed in a public setting. This case of an adolescent victim of a surgical accident illustrates many aspects of consultation psychiatry. The consult question itself, of behavior management, is not unusual, although in this case the question is complicated by the sequelae of trauma, psychosocial chaos, and the staff's angry feelings toward the patient. In addition, potential surgical wrongdoing at the referring hospital brings up the more difficult ethical questions of the consultant's responsibilities, which must be to the patient and his family, as well as to the attending and referring physicians.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

The introduction of cystic fibrosis carrier screening into clinical practice: policy considerations.

Routine prenatal testing for cystic fibrosis (CF) should be halted until the detection rate reaches 95 percent. Pilot studies are needed in order to evaluate the feasibility of meeting education, consent, and counseling requirements in order to facilitate informed reproductive decisions by clients and to minimize the potential for confusion, stigmatization, and discrimination. Primary care physicians may not be trained adequately to provide appropriate information, and prenatal visits may not be an ideal setting. The public's interest in carrier testing, prenatal testing, and pregnancy termination is uncertain because CF patients have an increasing median survival, variable disability, and normal intelligence. Even with a goal that limits testing for the purpose of informed reproductive decision making, the considerable cost of screening per case prevented must be considered before it becomes public policy. Until these issues have been clarified, the duty of primary care physicians is to inform patients of the test's availability and to refer interested patients to qualified genetic counselors rather than to provide the test themselves.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1992

Parents' knowledge of neonatal screening and response to false-positive cystic fibrosis testing.

Neonatal screening for cystic fibrosis (CF) has become feasible through analyzing dried blood specimens for immunoreactive trypsinogen (IRT), but the benefits and risks of such a screening program remain to be delineated. This study, a survey of the parents of 104 Wisconsin infants with false-positive IRT tests, showed parents had knowledge deficits about neonatal screening in general, misconceptions about test results, and high levels of anxiety. Parenting behaviors were reportedly unchanged during the usual 3-day waiting period between the news of the abnormal screening test and the diagnostic sweat test. Most, but not all, parents were relieved by negative sweat test results subsequent to the abnormal IRT test. Factors associated with continued parental concern included having less than a high school education and/or having an infant with low Apgar scores. Additionally, those contacted by telephone were more likely to have misinformation and lingering concerns about the presence of CF in their child.

Anxiety↗
PubMed1977

Children as renal donors.

With the exception of identical twins, preadolescent children have been excluded as renal donors. The justification for this policy appears to be based on a notion that renal donation is an altruistic act, primarily for the benefit of another, and that stringent standards of informed consent must be followed. This paper challenges the present policy on two grounds: consent from adults who donate kidneys is generally not informed, and therefore it is inconsistent to use the consent requirement as a justification for excluding children; and renal donation by adults can be seen as a procedure done for the benefit of the donor (as well as the recipient), and the appropriate rules for using children as donors should therefore be those pertaining to beneficial intrusions on nonconsenting subjects.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Passive euthanasia of defective newborn infants: legal considerations.

The recent increase in reporting of passive euthanasia of defective newborn infants has not been accompanied by extensive analysis of the legality of the practice or the appropriateness of current law. There appears to be criminal liability on several grounds for parents, physicians, nurses, and administrators. Such liability may include charges of homicide by omission, child neglect, and failure to report child neglect. Increasing public exposure of the practice increases the probability that such prosecutions may be brought. Individuals involved in such decisions should be aware of their possible legal liability. If existing legal policy is inappropriate, it sould be changed through open discussion and not subverted through private action. Two alternative policies are described: establishment of criteria for the class of infants who can be allowed to die or a better process of decision making. We conclude that a committment to process would be preferable.

Congenital Abnormalities↗