Gesundheitsschutz als normatives Kriterium der Medizinethik

Illness and health are terms open to interpretation. Their meaning depends on cultural backgrounds, societal designations and historical change. During the modern era, having been shaped by natural sciences, knowledge in medicine has grown exponentially. However, critical voices warn of a medicalization of the image of humanity or an "absolutization" of health. They emphasize that limits must be set to medical progress. In return it has to be highlighted that contemporary medicine has opened up new chances of therapy, prevention and palliative treatment (pain relief), which could not be applied previously. As a result, it is the responsibility of medicine to make available the highest possible measure of progress to patients. The medical profession is confronted with the task of supporting patients in their right to self-determination and their decision competence. For the individual human being, health is a fundamental good. Therefore, each human individual has the right to health protection and medical care which correspond to the latest medical knowledge available. By now, this right has been acknowledged by human rights conventions and numerous legal documents. From an ethical point of view, health protection has to be interpreted as 1) the right to defense, 2) the right to claim and 3) the patient's right to participate. It falls to medical ethics to substantiate the meaning of health protection for the different spheres of medical activity.     

Sicherheit von Blut und Blutprodukten: Testmethoden zum Nachweis der Hepatitisviren B, C und E

Bundesgesundheitsblatt - Gesundheitsforschung - Gesundheitsschutz - Infektionen mit den Hepatitisviren B, C und E (HBV, HCV, HEV) sind über das Blut übertragbar...     

Sterbehilfe und Sterbebegleitung im Licht der Patientenautonomie

According to the fundamental right of freedom and self-determination, as guaranteed under German constitutional law, it is the right of each individual human being to define what in his/her own view constitutes a dignified way of dying. Dignity in dying is part of human dignity. Therefore, from an ethical point of view, the wish for a discontinuation of medical treatment, or the limitation of such a treatment, is legitimate. This can also be expressed preventively in a patient’s order or last will. Ethical and legal uncertainties regarding the understanding of euthanasia can be due to the fact that transitions between different types of euthanasia (i.e. active, indirect and passive etc.) are fluid. Palliative sedation (terminal sedation) has become a new form of euthanasia. Therefore, it is imperative to develop criteria, which make it clear under which circumstances it can be used. Also in this particular case of euthanasia, the will and the right to self-determination of the patient constitute the relevant ethical standard.     

Semiquantitative method of examining thyroid follicles

The ratio between the thyroid epithelium height and intrafollicular lumen diameter determined by means of a proportional dividers is taken as a basis for the method proposed. The values of the ratios are assessed by classes.     

Surgical tactics in patients with multi-stage occlusions

Reconstructive operations on the vessels proved to be possible in 275 of 330 patients with "multi-stage occlusions": in 227 patients profound femoral arteries were included into the main blood flow, in 48 patients the blood flow was reestablished in the aorto-iliac and femoro-popliteal segments. Good results were obtained in 81.2% of the patients. Secondary amputation was performed in 9.1%, 8.7% of the patients died. In the postoperative period repeated interventions proved to be necessary in 46 (16.7%) patients.