Ethical considerations in paediatric neurology: Neuromuscular disease and epilepsy

Abstract

The pace of developing technology with respect to many diagnostic tests, as well as available treatments including artificial ventilation, may have progressed at a faster rate than our ethical, humane ability to decide on the optimal choices for our patients. In fact, who should make these choices; physicians or patients and families? Certain ethical aspects of neuromuscular disorders and epilepsy are reviewed. For neuromuscular disease, the example of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) with regards to genetic testing, relatively early wheelchair placement and individualised invasive ventilation is discussed. In epilepsy, performing neurosurgery in severely impaired children is probably appropriate in some cases if desired by the family. Financial and human costs restrict therapies and testing for epilepsy as well as other neurological and medical diseases. Whether it is ethical to consider costs in medical treatment or not, it is certainly a reality. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health.