Religion and Refusal of Medical Care for Children

Two children (Kent and Brandon Schaible) have died of treatable pneumonia and dehydration because their parents (Herbert and Catherine Schaible) resorted to prayer instead of medical care.  In another particularly egregious case, members of the Faith Assembly Church denied medical care to a 4-year-old with an eye tumor the size of the child’s head.  Law enforcement officials found blood trails along the walls of the girl’s home where she, nearly blind, used the walls to support her head while navigating from room to room.  Seth Asser and Rita Swan have documented 172 cases of child deaths from preventable medical complication between 1975-1995.  The report does not include seventy-eight faith healing deaths reported in Oregon from 1955-1998, or the twelve deaths in Idaho from 1980-1998.  As recently as 2013, five child deaths in Idaho were reported from families whose religious beliefs prevented them from seeking medical treatment.  What sort of religious beliefs might possess a parent to refuse medical treatment for their child?   Christian Scientists base their refusal on the religious belief that medicine is fundamentally mistaken in thinking the ultimate cause of disease is biological, seeing the real source of disease as spiritual disorder; and a spiritual problem calls for a spiritual solution.  The reality of sickness is not denied (e.g., you really do have pneumonia), however, the ultimate cause of that pneumo...
Source: blog.bioethics.net - Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Tags: Health Care Pediatrics Author: Brummett religion syndicated Source Type: blogs

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Abstract Guidelines published in 2016 provide a revised definition of sepsis: life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. The guidelines define septic shock as sepsis with circulatory, cellular, and metabolic dysfunction that is associated with a higher risk of mortality. The measurement of serum lactate has been incorporated into the latest septic shock definition. The guidelines recommend the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (original and quick versions) as an important tool for early diagnosis. Respiratory, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, and skin and soft tissue ...
Source: American Family Physician - Category: Primary Care Authors: Tags: Am Fam Physician Source Type: research
Diagnosing pneumonia and other lung conditions can be challenging in patients with severe intellectual or physical disabilities or severe chest deformities. Physical examination is sometimes difficult to perform and the frequently requested chest x-ray (CXR) study is often of little value in the diagnostic approach to this population. Point-of-care lung ultrasound (US) is an emerging diagnostic tool with particularly high level of accuracy in detecting pneumonia, pleural effusion, and pneumothorax.
Source: The Journal of Emergency Medicine - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Ultrasound in Emergency Medicine Source Type: research
(BOSTON) — Neil Diamond posts a fireside rendition of “Sweet Caroline” with its familiar lyrics tweaked to say, “Hands … washing hands.” A news anchor asks when social distancing will end because “my husband keeps trying to get into the house.” And a sign outside a neighborhood church reads: “Had not planned on giving up quite this much for Lent.” Are we allowed to chuckle yet? We’d better, psychologists and humorists say. Laughter can be the best medicine, they argue, so long as it’s within the bounds of good taste. And in a crisis, it can be a power...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 News Desk wire Source Type: news
It’s not often that a person growing up among the cotton fields of southwest Oklahoma goes on to become a successful manager of global technology companies, but Leland White is not your average person. During his career, he built and managed semiconductor manufacturing plants around the world and provided management consulting services to large corporations and federal agencies. After a successful business career, he retired in Colorado to pursue two passions: downhill skiing and high-performance driving. Referred to by family and friends as “Lee,” he turned 78 last spring. I talked to Lee about the chall...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Tags: Health Care Slider Speech-Language Pathology Dysphagia Swallowing Disorders Source Type: blogs
Pneumonia is the most common cause of hospitalization for nursing home residents. When deciding whether to treat a resident in the nursing home or transfer to a hospital, it is important to consider risks of hospitalization, including significant functional decline. Little is known about the functional status outcomes of nursing home residents hospitalized for pneumonia.
Source: Journal of the American Medical Directors Association - Category: Health Management Authors: Source Type: research
This article gives an overview of the baseline characteristics, therapeutic procedures, and early outcomes in patients suffering from spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage. AbstractBackground and PurposeHemorrhagic stroke, particularly nontraumatic spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (SICH), is a cerebrovascular condition with unfavorable outcomes. The aims of the present study were to evaluate patients who suffered from SICH and investigate the early outcomes in a single ‐center study.MethodsDuring a study ‐period of 6 years (2008–2014), 613 consecutive patients (mean age, 72 ± 12.7 ye...
Source: Brain and Behavior - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: ORIGINAL RESEARCH Source Type: research
This study tried to clarify that re-initiating oral food intake could modify the composition of oral/gut microbial communities in patients with dysphagia. From 78 patients with sub-acute stage of stroke, 11 complete tube feeding subjects without taking antibiotics were enrolled and received rehabilitation for re-initiation of oral food intake, and 8 subjects were brought back to complete oral feeding. Oral and gut microbiota community profiles were evaluated using 16S rRNA sequencing of the saliva and feces samples before and after re-initiation of oral food intake in patients recovering from enteral nutrition under the sa...
Source: Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology - Category: Microbiology Source Type: research
This article gives an overview of the baseline characteristics, therapeutic procedures, and early outcomes in patients suffering from spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage. AbstractBackground and PurposeHemorrhagic stroke, particularly nontraumatic spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (SICH), is a cerebrovascular condition with unfavorable outcomes. The aims of the present study were to evaluate patients who suffered from SICH and investigate the early outcomes in a single ‐center study.MethodsDuring a study ‐period of 6 years (2008–2014), 613 consecutive patients (mean age, 72 ± 12.7 ye...
Source: Brain and Behavior - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research
Conclusion: According to WHO-recommended thresholds for interpreting cost-effectiveness, introduction of PCV-13 for children under 5 years in the Islamic Republic of Iran would be cost-effective. PMID: 31774134 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal - Category: Middle East Health Tags: East Mediterr Health J Source Type: research
Air pollution increases hospital admissions even at levels below guidelines and for a wider range of conditions Related items fromOnMedica More global deaths from poor diet than from smoking Illness poorly managed in those with learning disability High pollution days send hundreds to hospital Public health chiefs set out NHS plan targets Pollution link to thousands of pneumonia deaths
Source: OnMedica Latest News - Category: UK Health Source Type: news
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