JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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Case Reports
Splenic syndrome at mountain altitudes in sickle cell trait. Its occurrence in nonblack persons.
Six consecutive cases of splenic syndrome at mountain altitudes in persons with sickle cell trait are reported and the literature is reviewed. All six cases occurred in men who experienced the acute onset of severe left-upper-quadrant abdominal pain within 48 hours of arrival in Colorado from lower altitudes. ⋯ All recovered with medical management and none required splenectomy, although functional hyposplenia was a sequela in at least one patient. The possibility that nonblack persons with sickle cell trait may be at greater risk than black persons with sickle cell trait for the development of splenic syndrome at moderate altitude is discussed.
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We studied the use of do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders at three teaching hospitals that did not have official protocols for such orders to see whether their use meets the goals (decision making before a crisis and promoting patient autonomy) that have been identified for such orders. We found that 20% of all patients had or were being considered for DNR orders, that the patient and/or family was usually involved (83%) in the decision not to resuscitate, but rarely involved (25%) in decisions to resuscitate, or in cases of no decision, that a wide range of care was provided to patients with a DNR status, and that partial resuscitative efforts would be employed in some cases. Our main conclusion in light of our findings is that DNR orders are currently not fulfilling their major goals. We offer six proposals for improving future DNR protocols.