LETTER
Physicians' Attitudes about Patients in the Persistent Vegetative State
William W. Stead, MD
1 January 1997 | Volume 126 Issue 1 | Page 90
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.
I was pleased to see these problems dealt with in such a humane way in the leading publication for internists. Obviously, as I approach my 78th birthday, I have a personal stake in finding more humane ways to let us get out of this life when our time comes.
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Author and Article Information
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Arkansas Department of Health; Little Rock, AR 72205-3867
1. Payne K, Taylor RM, Stocking C, Sachs GA. Physicians' attitudes about the care of patients in the persistent vegetative state: a national survey. Ann Intern Med. 1996; 125:104-10.
2. Cassell EJ. Clinical incoherence about persons: the problem of the persistent vegetative state [Editorial]. Ann Intern Med. 1996; 125:146-7.
3. Gilligan T, Raffin TA. Whose death is it, anyway? Ann Intern Med. 1996; 125:137-41.
4. Hansot E. A letter from a patient's daughter. Ann Intern Med. 1996; 125:149-51.
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