Evaluating the use of casuistry during moral case deliberation in the ICU: A multiple qualitative case study.

Intensive care unit (ICU) professionals engage in ethical decision making under conditions of high stakes, great uncertainty, time-sensitivity and frequent irreversibility of action. Casuistry is a way by which actionable knowledge is obtained through comparing a patient case to previous cases from experience in clinical practice. However, within the field of study as well as in practice, evidence-based medicine is the dominant epistemic framework. This multiple case study evaluated the use of casuistic reasoning by intensive care unit (ICU) professionals during moral case deliberation. It took place in two Dutch hospitals between June 2020 and June 2022. Twentyfive moral case deliberations from ICU practice were recorded and analyzed using discourse analysis. Additionally, 47 interviews were held with ICU professionals who participated in these deliberations, analyzed using thematic analysis. We found that ICU professionals made considerable use of case comparisons when discussing continuation, withdrawal or limitation. Analogies played a role in justifying or complicating moral judgements, and also played a role in addressing moral distress. The language of case-based arguments is most often not overtly normative. Rather, the data shows that casuistic reasoning deals with the medical, ethical and contextual elements of decisions in an integrated manner. Facilitators of MCD have an essential role in (supporting ICU professionals in) scrutinizing casuistic arguments. The data shows that during MCD, actual reasoning often deviated from principle- and rule-based reasoning which ICU professionals preferred themselves. Evidence-based arguments often gained the character of analogical arguments, especially when a patient-at-hand was seen as highly unique from the average patients in the literature. Casuistic arguments disguised as evidence-based arguments may therefore provide ICU professionals with a false sense of certainty. Within education, we should strive to train clinicians and ethics facilitators so that they can recognize and evaluate casuistic arguments.

Principlism, Uncodifiability, and the Problem of Specification.

In this paper I critically examine the implications of the uncodifiability thesis for principlism as a pluralistic and non-absolute generalist ethical theory. In this regard, I begin with a brief overview of W.D. Ross's ethical theory and his focus on general but defeasible prima facie principles before turning to 2) the revival of principlism in contemporary bioethics through the influential work of Tom Beauchamp and James Childress; 3) the widespread adoption of specification as a response to the indeterminacy of abstract general principles and the limitations of balancing and deductive approaches; 4) the challenges raised to fully specified principlism by the uncodifiability thesis and 5) finally offer a defense of the uncodifiability thesis against various critiques that have been raised.

Is blood thicker than water? Perceptions on the role of stepparents in medical decisions among minors.

Alternative family configurations are becoming more prevalent, yet current legislative statutory does not support stepparents in medical decisions for their stepchildren. We investigate opinions of Belgian and Dutch adults regarding inclusion of stepparents in medical decision-making in minors. We make two observations. First, participants wanted stepparents to be involved in cases when medical information had to be shared or informed consent signed. Second, when stepparents object against previously approved medical interventions by a biological parent, respondents were less likely to support stepparents. Participants with stepchildren were likely to favour inclusion of stepparents in decision-making. Overall, our findings indicate that Belgian and Dutch adults view stepparents as potential executive actors in medical decision-making for minors, but not as primary decision-makers. This study is a first step in showing to what extent stepparents could be included in medical information and decision-making regarding stepchildren. We reflect on these findings in light of implications for medical practice and legislative shortcomings.

Compulsory vaccination against COVID-19: a legal and ethical perspective on public good versus personal reticence.

Coercive measures to protect public health are controversial, eliciting questions regarding state-patient relationships and conflicts between individual autonomy and public good. This is challenging in a time when respect for patient autonomy has become elevated yet society faces an increasing number of public health challenges, the most recent being the SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19). In that context, there is emphasis on increasing vaccination rates internationally in order to achieve "herd immunity", raising the possibility of compulsory vaccination of populations in the future. Here, we explore current rights of individuals to decline vaccination, utilising prior learning from other viral pathogens internationally (specifically, measles, mumps and rubella), and related public health outcomes. Further, we consider freedom of choice versus mandatory treatment necessitated to avoid contagion during disease outbreaks (such as COVID-19). In doing so, we utilise rhetorical reasoning in the form of casuistry focusing on the core challenges regarding public good versus personal antipathy towards vaccination.

The structure of analogical reasoning in bioethics.

Casuistry, which involves analogical reasoning, is a popular methodological approach in bioethics. The method has its advantages and challenges, which are widely acknowledged. Meta-philosophical reflection on exactly how bioethical casuistry works and how the challenges can be addressed is limited. In this paper we propose a framework for structuring casuistry and analogical reasoning in bioethics. The framework is developed by incorporating theories and insights from the philosophy of science: Mary Hesse's ideas on horizontal and vertical relations in analogical reasoning in the sciences, Paul Bartha's articulation model of analogical reasoning and Daniel Steel's insights on mechanism-based extrapolation in biomedical research. Adopting our framework results in two practical benefits: it sets methodological standards for analogical reasoning and enables us to compare and evaluate diverging lines of analogical reasoning in a systematic way. Adopting the framework also has theoretical benefits: it helps to understand how analogical reasoning can have moral normativity; it pinpoints exactly where moral principles or theories enter analogical reasoning; and it helps to understand why casuistry is an attractive method in bioethics and in applied ethics more generally.

AI Ethics, Ethics Washing, and the Need to Politicize Data Ethics.

Many commercial actors in the tech sector publish ethics guidelines as a means to 'wash away' concerns raised about their policies. For some academics, this phenomenon is reason to replace ethics with other tools and methods in an attempt to make sure that the tech sector does not cross any moral Rubicons. Others warn against the tendency to reduce a criticism of 'ethics washing' into one of ethics simpliciter. In this essay, I argue firstly that the dominant focus on principles, dilemmas, and theory in conventional ethical theories and practices could be an explanation of it lacking resistance to abuse by dominant actors, and hence its rather disappointing capacity to stop, redirect, or at least slow down big tech's course. Secondly, drawing from research on casuistry and political philosopher Raymond Geuss, this essay will make a case for a question, rather than theory or principle-based ethical data practice. The emphasis of this approach is placed on the acquisition of a thorough understanding of a social-political phenomenon like tech development. This approach should be replenished with one extra component to the picture of the repoliticized data ethics drawn so far: the importance of 'exemplars,' or stories. Precisely the fact that one should acquire an in-depth understanding of the problem in practice will also allow one to look in the past, present, or future for similar and comparable stories from which one can learn.

[Impotence and belief in witchcraft: a medical treatise by the Ulm town physician Wolfgang Reichart (1486-1547)]. / Impotenz und Hexenglauben: Ein medizinischer Traktat des Ulmer Stadtarztes Wolfgang Reichart (1486­1547).

BACKGROUND: The belief in witchcraft influenced medical thinking and action in the 16th century. In a hitherto unknown treatise on impotence, the Ulmian town physician Wolfgang Reichart (1486-1547) has rationally explained it by using medical concepts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The treatise was transcribed, translated, and analyzed in terms of its sources, structure, and content. The results were compared with the concept of Johann Weyer (1515-1588). RESULTS: Reichart explains his patient's impotence as an acquired disease involving demons. Since demons act only naturally on the human body, the disease is naturally curable. The basis of the therapy is a medieval pathophysiological concept that combined ancient elements. CONCLUSIONS: Reichart's therapy differs from that of contemporary physicians because he treats the patient himself and does not send him to a theologian. Unlike Weyer, he offers a detailed pathophysiological concept in order to explain impotence medically.

Professional judgement in clinical practice (part 3): A better alternative to strong evidence-based medicine.

Parts 1 and 2 in this series of three articles have shown that and how strong evidence-based medicine has neither a coherent theoretical foundation nor creditable application to clinical practice. Because of its core commitment to the discredited positivist tradition it holds both a false concept of scientific knowledge and misunderstandings concerning clinical decision-making. Strong EBM continues attempts to use flawed adjustments to recover from the unsalvageable base view. Paper three argues that a promising solution is at hand if we can manage several modes of inclusion. A modified original, moderate version of EBM continues though usually overshadowed. As definitively laid out by Sackett in the 1990s, clinical decision making is intended to be person-centered, recognizing and integrating multiple modes of evidence and knowledge that have been marginalized: professional experience, illness narratives, and individual patients' values and preferences. Complementary resources are at hand: interpretative understanding and practice, such as philosophical anthropology, hermeneutical phenomenology, complexity theory, and phronetic practices respond to the major problems and open new possibilities. Phronesis is especially important in regard to public decision making. Within part 3 an additional tone necessarily occurs. While most of papers 1, 2, and 3 are written in the classical mode of contrasting the theoretical-logical and empirical evidence offered by contending positions bearing on the decision making and judgement in clinical practice, a shift occurs when considerations move beyond what is possible for clinical practitioners to accomplish. A different, discontinuous level of power operates in the trans-personal realm of instrumental policy, insurance, and hospital management practices. In this social-economic-political-ethical realm what happens in clinical practice today increasingly becomes a matter of what is "done unto" clinical practitioners, of what hampers their professional action and thus care of individual patients and clients.

Casuística y seguimiento telemático de pacientes Covid-19 en Vinces ­Ecuador, Marzo a Junio 2020 / Casuistry and telematic follow-up of patients Covid-19 in Vinces ­ Ecuador, March to June, 2020

Covid-19 al ser una enfermedad nueva, sin un tratamiento específico, cuyo protocolo de actuación está en continua revisión y sujeto a modificaciones según los reportes clínicos, epidemiológicos y terapéuticos. El presente estudio planteó como objetivo: conocer la casuística y seguimiento telemático de pacientes Covid-19 atendidos en el "Centro Médico Popular" ciudad de Vinces durante el periodo Marzo­junio 2020, en la provincia de Los Ríos, Ecuador. Estudio epidemiológico, descriptivo, observacional, prospectivo, realizado en dos fases: (1) Revisión de 83 historias clínicas de los pacientes Covid-19 y (2) Entrevista a personal de salud para identificar criterios de selección y seguimiento a través de la telemedicina de la evolución del caso durante el aislamiento domiciliario. Los resultados evidenciaron entre la casuística que el 33,73% eran de 46-64 años, y el 22,89% de 30 a 45 años; el 54,22% masculino; el 90,36% de Vinces; los 5 síntomas de mayor frecuencia fueron: tos 12.76%, malestar general 11.93%, fiebre 11.73%, dolor de garganta 9.67%, rinorrea 8.85%; hubo 10 pacientes de hipertensión grado 1, 2, y 3 47 pacientes con frecuencia respiratoria elevada, en 48 pacientes se presentó frecuencia cardiaca elevada; 26 pacientes con hipoxemia leve, moderada y severa; las 3 comorbilidades más frecuentes fueron HTA 55.56%, DM 13.89% y Obesidad 11.11%; los resultados de tomografía se los clasificó en leve 84.34%, moderado 14.46% y grave el 1.20%; la confirmación de laboratorio mediante prueba específica cualitativa 92%, Rt.PCR 78% y la prueba cuantitativa para control de inmunidad 85%. : la telemedicina permitió un mejor telemonitoreo y teleseguimiento del paciente Covid-19 desde la plataforma tecnológica. No se presentaron complicaciones, el 98,79% de los casos se recuperaron, no hubo fallecidos. Se cumplieron en todo momento los protocolos de bioseguridad y bioética emitidos por la OMS y OPS para la atención de pacientes Covid-19(AU)

Covid-19 is a new disease, without specific treatment, whose protocol of action is under continuous review and subject to modifications according to clinical, epidemiological and therapeutic reports. The objective of this study was to know the casuistics and telematic follow-up of Covid-19 patients attended in the "Popular Medical Center" city of Vances during the period March­June 2020, in the province of Los Rios, Ecuador. Epidemiological, descriptive, observational, prospective study carried out in two phases: (1) Review of 83 case histories of the patients Covid-19 and (2) Interviews to health personnel to identify criteria of selection and follow-up across the telemedicina of the evolution of the case during the home isolation. . The results showed among the casuistics that 33,73% were 46-64 years old, and 22,89% were 30 to 45 years old; 54,22% male; 90,36% Vince; the 5 most frequent symptoms were: Cough 12.76%, general malaise 11.93%, fever 11.73%, sore throat 9.67%, rhinorrhea 8.85%; there were 10 patients with grade 1, 2 hypertension, and 3 47 patients with high respiratory rate, in 48 patients there was high heart rate; 26 patients with mild, moderate, and severe hypoxemia; the 3 most frequent comorbidities were 55.56% HBP, 13.89% DM, and 11.11% Obesity; the tomography results were classified as mild 84.34%, moderate 14.46%, and severe 1.20%; Laboratory confirmation by specific qualitative test 92%, RT.PCR 78% and quantitative test for immunity control 85%. : Telemedicine allowed for better telemonitoring and tele-telegument of the patient Covid-19 from the technological platform. No complications occurred, 98,79% of cases recovered, no deaths. The biosecurity and bioethics protocols issued by WHO and PAHO for the care of Covid-19 patients were always complied with(AU)

Doenças do sistema digestório de pequenos ruminantes no norte do Paraná / Digestive disorders of small ruminants in northern Paraná

As doenças do sistema digestório de ovinos e caprinos no norte do Paraná foram avaliadas por meio de um estudo retrospectivo de 427 pequenos ruminantes atendidos no Ambulatório de Grandes Animais, do Hospital Veterinário da Universidade Estadual de Londrina, no período de janeiro de 2006 a dezembro de 2015. Para isso, foi realizada revisão das fichas clínicas dos pequenos ruminantes com afecções do sistema digestório, determinando a ocorrência, principais características clínicas, tratamentos instituídos e evolução dos casos. Os dados foram tabulados e submetidos a um estudo descritivo das variáveis, observando a distribuição das frequências (%) das condições analisadas. As afecções do sistema digestório foram diagnosticadas em 38,64% (165/427) dos atendimentos realizados. Vinte e seis animais apresentaram duas afecções no momento do atendimento, totalizando 191 enfermidades diagnosticadas. Dentre essas enfermidades, as mais comumente diagnosticadas foram: hemoncose (27,7%; 53/191), acidose láctica ruminal aguda (18,8%; 36/191), eimeriose (13,6%; 26/191) e indigestão simples (6,8%; 13/191). O aumento da criação de ovinos e caprinos no estado do Paraná reitera a importância do desenvolvimento de estudos como o presente trabalho, a fim de identificar as enfermidades mais frequentes e preparar o médico veterinário para o diagnóstico e tratamento correto.

Sheep and Goat's digestive disorders in northern Paraná were evaluated by a retrospective study of 427 small ruminants treated at the State University of Londrina's Veterinary Hospital (HV-UEL), from January 2006 to December 2015. Analysis of medical records of small ruminants with digestive disorder were performed, determining the occurrence, main clinical signs, established treatments and outcome of cases. Data were tabulated and submitted to a descriptive study of variables, observing frequency distribution (%) of analyzed conditions. Digestive disorders occurs in 38,6% (165/427) of cases in small ruminants at the studied period. Among these diseases, the most common were: hemoncose (27.7%; 53/191), acute rumen lactic acidosis (18.8%; 36/191), eimeriosis (13.6%; 26/191) and simple indigestion (6.8%; 13/191). The increase in sheep and goats' flock in the state of Paraná reiterates the importance of developing studies such as the present study, in order to identify the most frequent diseases and prepare the veterinarian for the correct diagnosis and treatment.

Doenças do sistema digestório de pequenos ruminantes no norte do Paraná / Digestive disorders of small ruminants in northern Paraná

As doenças do sistema digestório de ovinos e caprinos no norte do Paraná foram avaliadas por meio de um estudo retrospectivo de 427 pequenos ruminantes atendidos no Ambulatório de Grandes Animais, do Hospital Veterinário da Universidade Estadual de Londrina, no período de janeiro de 2006 a dezembro de 2015. Para isso, foi realizada revisão das fichas clínicas dos pequenos ruminantes com afecções do sistema digestório, determinando a ocorrência, principais características clínicas, tratamentos instituídos e evolução dos casos. Os dados foram tabulados e submetidos a um estudo descritivo das variáveis, observando a distribuição das frequências (%) das condições analisadas. As afecções do sistema digestório foram diagnosticadas em 38,64% (165/427) dos atendimentos realizados. Vinte e seis animais apresentaram duas afecções no momento do atendimento, totalizando 191 enfermidades diagnosticadas. Dentre essas enfermidades, as mais comumente diagnosticadas foram: hemoncose (27,7%; 53/191), acidose láctica ruminal aguda (18,8%; 36/191), eimeriose (13,6%; 26/191) e indigestão simples (6,8%; 13/191). O aumento da criação de ovinos e caprinos no estado do Paraná reitera a importância do desenvolvimento de estudos como o presente trabalho, a fim de identificar as enfermidades mais frequentes e preparar o médico veterinário para o diagnóstico e tratamento correto.

Sheep and Goat’s digestive disorders in northern Paraná were evaluated by a retrospective study of 427 small ruminants treated at the State University of Londrina’s Veterinary Hospital (HV-UEL), from January 2006 to December 2015. Analysis of medical records of small ruminants with digestive disorder were performed, determining the occurrence, main clinical signs, established treatments and outcome of cases. Data were tabulated and submitted to a descriptive study of variables, observing frequency distribution (%) of analyzed conditions. Digestive disorders occurs in 38,6% (165/427) of cases in small ruminants at the studied period. Among these diseases, the most common were: hemoncose (27.7%; 53/191), acute rumen lactic acidosis (18.8%; 36/191), eimeriosis (13.6%; 26/191) and simple indigestion (6.8%; 13/191). The increase in sheep and goats’ flock in the state of Paraná reiterates the importance of developing studies such as the present study, in order to identify the most frequent diseases and prepare the veterinarian for the correct diagnosis and treatment.

Casuistry: On a Method of Ethical Judgement in Patient Care.

The article is dedicated to the application questions of a case study method known as casuistry. In its long tradition, it focuses on an influential variant of the early modern period and reconstructs its functionality. In the course of reading recent receptions, it is noted that some studies speak of a "casuistic revival" in moral case deliberation in health care. As a result of this revival, casuistry has been modified in such a way that it guides case discussions in practice with the help of a tripartite methodology (morphology, taxonomy, and kinetics). However, as it turns out, casuistry, a case comparison method of ethical judgement based on reasoning logic, is less suitable for moral case deliberations in direct patient care. This stems from the fact that casuistry is a detailed procedure of ethical learning beneficial to institutionalized ethics committees or similar forms of ethics consultation in health care.

The Ethics of Technology: Response to Critics.

The Ethics of Technology: A Geometric Analysis of Five Moral Principles proposes five moral principles for analyzing ethical issues related to engineering and technology. The objections raised by several authors to the multidimensional scaling technique used in the book reveal a lack of familiarity with this widely used technique.

Family Resemblances: Human Reproductive Cloning as an Example for Reconsidering the Mutual Relationships between Bioethics and Science Fiction.

In the traditions of narrative ethics and casuistry, stories have a well-established role. Specifically, illness narratives provide insight into patients' perspectives and histories. However, because they tend to see fiction as an aesthetic endeavour, practitioners in these traditions often do not realize that fictional stories are valuable moral sources of their own. In this paper I employ two arguments to show the mutual relationship between bioethics and fiction, specifically, science fiction. First, both discourses use imagination to set a scene and determine a perspective. Second, bioethics and science fiction share the family resemblance of expressing moral beliefs. I then consider how understanding bioethics and science fiction as interrelated discourses can be the basis of a methodology for inquiry into relational autonomy in the context of biotechnologies and medicine. As an example of this methodology, I analyse Fay Weldon's novel The Cloning of Joanna May (1989).

Classification, fixation techniques, complications and outcomes of femur fractures in dogs and cats: 61 cases (2015-2016) / Classificação, métodos de fixação, complicações e desfecho das fraturas de fêmur em cães e gatos: 61 casos (2015-2016)

ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the frequency of femur fractures in dogs and cats in the routine of a school hospital, determining their classification, fixation methods, complications, and outcomes. A total of 61 animals, 50 (82.0%) dogs and 11 (18.0%) cats, had femoral fractures that were submitted to osteosynthesis. Sixty-two femoral fractures were evaluated. Single fractures in the distal epiphysis (n=25) were the most frequent (P=0.0001). Intramedullary pins were used in association with cerclage and tension band for osteosynthesis in proximal fractures. In diaphyseal fractures, bone plates and screws, two intramedullary pins (insulated or with cerclage) and Tie-In configuration were used. In distal fractures, modified Rush intramedullary pins, cross pins and Tie-In configuration were used. Comparing complication frequencies at fracture sites that required reintervention after osteosynthesis, a significant difference was observed (P=0.0253) between the diaphyseal (31.25%) and distal (7.14%) fractures independent of the technique used. We concluded that distal epiphyseal fractures were the most frequent in the routine of a school hospital. Distal epiphyseal fractures presented a lower frequency of complications for consolidation when treated with modified Rush intramedullary pins or crossed pins.

RESUMO: O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar, retrospectivamente, a frequência das fraturas de fêmur em cães e gatos, na rotina de um hospital escola, determinando a classificação, métodos de fixação, complicações e desfecho. No total, 61 animais, 50 (82,0%) cães e 11 (18,0%) gatos, apresentaram fraturas de fêmur submetidas a osteossíntese. Sessenta e duas fraturas de fêmur foram avaliadas neste estudo. As fraturas simples localizadas na epífise distal (n=25) foram as mais frequentes (P=0,0001). Para osteossíntese das fraturas proximais, foram utilizados pinos intramedulares em associação a cerclagem e banda de tensão. Nas fraturas diafisárias, foram utilizadas placas ósseas e parafusos, dois pinos intramedulares (isolados ou com cerclagem) e fixador externo Tie-In e, nas fraturas distais, pinos intramedulares de Rush modificados, pinos cruzados e fixador externo Tie-In. Comparando-se a frequência de complicações que necessitaram reintervenção após osteossíntese, entre as localizações das fraturas, independente da técnica empregada, houve uma diferença significativa (P=0,0253) entre as diafisárias (31,25%) e distais (7,14%). Conclui-se que as fraturas epifisárias distais foram as mais frequentes na rotina de um hospital escola e, quando tratadas com pinos intramedulares de Rush modificados ou pinos cruzados, apresentaram menor frequência de complicações para a consolidação.

Clinical decision-making: the case against the new casuistry.

Albert Jonsen and Stephen Toulmin have argued that the best way to resolve the complex issues in medical settings is to focus on the actual details of cases and then determine what to do in the given cases. This approach to medical decision-making, labeled "casuistry," has met with much criticism. In response, Carson Strong has attempted to save much of Jonsen and Toulmin's version of casuistry. This analysis reveals that Strong's recent salvage efforts fail to deflect the major criticisms. The upshot of this analysis is that Jonsen and Toulmin's version of casuistry is not an appropriate framework from which to resolve complex issues in clinical settings.

The indispensability of labelled groups to vulnerability in bioethics.

Regarding the determination of vulnerability, the bioethics community has univocally jettisoned "labelled groups", groups whose membership confers a context-invariant "vulnerable" status to their members. While the usual reasons against the sole use of labelled groups to determine the vulnerability of individuals are sound, labelled groups as exemplars of vulnerability can play indispensable roles in bioethical reasoning. In this article, I argue against the wholesale jettisoning of labelled groups by showing how they can be useful.

Discusión sobre la necesidad de delimitación de una nueva nosografía psiquiátrica y psicológica. síndrome del accidentado por rayo eléctrico / Discussion on the delimitation of a nosography new psychiatric and psychological need. syndrome of the accident by electric ray

La observación y análisis de las variadas manifestaciones clínicas y secuelas que presentan las víctimas sobrevivientes de accidente por rayo, nos proporciona la posibilidad de cambiar el punto de vista desde el cual consideramos y estudiamos las mismas. Debemos evaluar la conveniencia de considerar tales manifestaciones meramente como un conjunto de signos y síntomas inespecíficos o pertenecientes a múltiples síndromes ya tipificados; o bien, abrir una nueva y profunda discusión en torno a la posibilidad de su agrupación y delimitación de una nueva categoría nosográfica psiquiátrica y psicológica. La metodología de la presente investigación se basa en el análisis de gran parte de la casuística extranjera de estos pacientes y la investigación bibliográfica exhaustiva sobre las escasas publicaciones científicas existentes. Asimismo, se revisan distintos procedimientos habituales en el ingreso de estos pacientes a los centros de salud que dificultan el estudio epidemiológico y sanitario de los mismos.

The observation and analysis of the varied clinical manifestations and sequels surviving accident victims presented by ray, gives us the possibility to change the point of view from which we consider and study them. We must assess the appropriateness of considering such manifestations merely as a set of signs and symptoms nonspecific, or belonging to multiple syndromes already described; Alternatively, open a new and profound discussion about the possibility of their grouping and delimitation of a new category of psychiatric and psychological nosographic. The methodology of this research is based on the analysis of much of the world Casuistry of these patients and the comprehensive bibliographic research on the scarce existing scientific publications. Also reviewed various common procedures in income of these patients to health centers, hindering the health and epidemiological study of them.

The casuistic method of practical ethics.

This essay concerns itself with the methodology of practical ethics. There are a variety of methods employed in ethics. Although none have been firmly established as dominant, it is generally agreed that casuistry, or the case-based method, is one important strategy commonly used for resolving ethical issues. Casuists compare the case under consideration to a relevantly similar (analogous) precedent case in which judgements have already been made, and they use these earlier judgements to determine the proper resolution of the present case. In this article, I try to provide a better understanding of the nature of contemporary casuistry. To accomplish this, I explain (in the first section) the basic features of casuistic reasoning. The second section focuses on the logic of casuistry. By assessing casuistic reasoning from the logical viewpoint, casuistry can be reconstructed as a logically correct method of reasoning. The third section looks at casuistry from the epistemic point of view and investigates the justificatory force of casuistic reasoning. Finally, in the fourth section, I show the usefulness of formal casuistry.

Cuerpos extraños en vía respiratoria: experiencia de 15 años. Universo estadístico de la provincia de Mendoza, Argentina / Foreign bodies in airway: experience of 15 years. Statistical universe of the province of Mendoza, Argentina

Objetivo. Presentar la experiencia de 15 años con extracción de cuerpos extraños. Se describen 277 procedimientos broncoscópicos realizados por sospecha de aspiración de cuerpo extraño desde diciembre de 1992 a diciembre de 2008. En 165 CE encontrados, se presentan las conclusiones derivadas de esa experiencia. Material y método. Rango de edades: 6 meses a 24 años. Se usó broncofibroscopio Pentax u Olympus, y broncoscopio rígido Storz. Resultados. El 69,70% de los pacientes tenía entre 6 a 25 meses; el 79% de los CE fueron extraídos antes de la semana de derivación por SP; el 40% correspondió a “semillas”; el síntoma más frecuente fue el SP: 91,5%, y la tos en el 85,5% de los casos; la radiología pulmonar fue normal en el 56,36%. Conclusiones. Debe ser un procedimiento centralizado por regiones que permita mantener la manualidad del operador. El centro de broncoscopía debe contar con la tecnología apropiada, en función de las edades que abarca. Deben ser más difundidas las características de la alimentación en los primeros 3 años de vida - edad más riesgosa- y los alimentos a evitar.

Objective. Experience of 15 years with bronchoscopic foreign bodies (FB) removal is presented 277 bronchoscopies for “probable foreign body aspiration” were per fomed from December 1992 to December 2008. In 165 cases a F.B. was found and conclusions are presented. Population. age range 6 mo to 24 yo. Results. 69,70% of patients were between 6 and 25 m.old.; 79% of F.B. were removed before 1 week of referral for suffocation event; 40% were classified as “seeds”; most frequent symptom was suffocation event in 91,5% and cough in 85,5% of cases; lung radiology was normal in 56%. F.B. successful extraction during first procedure was 154 cases out of 165 F.B. Complications were seen in 6,6%. Conclusions. F.B. extraction should be a procedure performed by geographic regions according to experience and population served. The F.B. extraction center should have instruments appropiate for ages and body sizes of its population. Feeding precautions and food preparation, during first 3 years of life, must be emphasized.