J Natl Med Assoc
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Comparative Study
End-of-life choices for African-American and white infants in a neonatal intensive-care unit: a pilot study.
African-American adults are more likely than white adults to desire the continuation of life-sustaining medical treatment (LSMT) at the end of life. No studies have examined racial differences in parental end-of-life decisions for neonates. ⋯ In this pilot study, parents of African-American and white infants appeared to make different end-of-life choices for their children. A larger study is needed to confirm these findings and further explore contributing factors such as mistrust, religiosity, and perceived discrimination.
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We report our experience of providing chronic opioid pharmacotherapy on an outpatient basis to selected patients with frequent episodes of moderate-to-severe pain from sickle cell disease (SCD). Three cases illustrate our clinical experience in approximately 40 patients with sickle cell pain. Patients were seen at our sickle cell pain clinic at Beth Israel Hospital once each month for a three-hour visit. ⋯ Pain was well controlled. For each patient, hospital admissions were reduced to < or = 1 visit per year. These reduced levels of ED visits and hospital admissions have remained constant for more than three years.