Withholding treatment: what, whom and why?

A selection of abstracts of clinically relevant papers from other journals. The abstracts on this page have been chosen and edited by John R. Radford.

Abstract

Should a dentist triage the care of a patient who has sustained dental trauma, before treating a patient in pain because of dental neglect?

Main

Pugh J. J Med Ethics 2017; 43: 279

This paper summaries a series of papers published in this edition of J Med Ethics. These papers examine withholding treatment in a medical context. In this abstract, these arguments have been illustrated with dental examples. Should treatment be withheld if an elderly patient refuses extraction of grossly septic teeth, as this decision demonstrates lack of capacity? And should a dentist deny a patient's autonomy by declining to carry out cosmetic dentistry because they fear the patient may regret this in the future? It is argued that triage is merely a protocol for allocating scarce medical resources. Healthcare providers should not 'act as agents of justice'.