Thursday, September 29, 2011

Treatment on a Child

An 8 year old girl develops a rare degenerative disease that will kill her in a few years if not treated. The only known treatment has only a five percent success rate, but minor risks. Her father agrees to put her into an experimental protocol involving a treatment that has a twenty percent success rate, but a higher risk. The treatment causes severely elevated cholesterol levels that normally taper off over time. The individual must complete the six weeks of treatment if it is to be successful.

After two weeks the girl’s cholesterol level is alarmingly high and the care team wants to end the treatment. The father insists on continuing until the end of the six weeks. What should the care team do?

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