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Volume 357:1-3 July 5, 2007 Number 1 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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For several weeks this spring, national attention was focused on a mother's struggle to prevent the Children's Hospital of Austin from withdrawing life support from her infant son. Emilio Gonzales was an 18-month-old boy who had Leigh's disease, a progressive and fatal neurometabolic disorder. He had been on life support in the intensive care unit for 5 months. The hospital had invoked the Texas Advance Directives Act, which authorized it to withdraw life support if an ethics committee had determined that further life support was medically inappropriate and provided the hospital gave the family 10 days' notice and attempted to . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Source Information

Dr. Truog is a professor of medical ethics and anesthesia (pediatrics) in the Departments of Anesthesia and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Division of Critical Care Medicine at Children's Hospital Boston — both in Boston.

An interview with Dr. Truog can be heard at www.nejm.org.

Related Letters:

Tackling Medical Futility in Texas
Fine R. L., Truog R. D.
Extract | Full Text | PDF  
N Engl J Med 2007; 357:1558-1559, Oct 11, 2007. Correspondence

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Shanawani, H., Wenrich, M. D., Tonelli, M. R., Curtis, J. R. (2008). Meeting Physicians' Responsibilities in Providing End-of-Life Care. Chest 133: 775-786 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Burns, J. P., Truog, R. D. (2007). Futility: A Concept in Evolution. Chest 132: 1987-1993 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Fine, R. L., Truog, R. D. (2007). Tackling Medical Futility in Texas. NEJM 357: 1558-1559 [Full Text]