BMJ 1995;310:937 (8 April)

Letters

Patients' views have been surveyed

EDITOR,--We are concerned that the anaesthetist who inserted a diclofenac suppository into a patient under general anaesthesia without her prior consent was found guilty of serious professional misconduct.1 Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are particularly effective in relieving pain after dental extractions.2 Suppositories are widely used by anaesthetists for postoperative analgesia. They have several advantages over injectable forms, having a longer duration of action, cost benefits, and a lack of side effects related to injection itself. This is particularly relevant to the intramuscular injection of diclofenac.3 While specific verbal consent is usually obtained in our hospital, this is not universal.

Evidence from expert witnesses in court pointed out that objection to the use of suppositories is, in their experience, extremely rare.1 It was also noted that, before this case, no source had ever given guidance on obtaining consent for the use of a suppository, and there was debate over the relative degree . . . [Full text of this article]


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Relevant Article

A fundamental problem of consent
John Mitchell
BMJ 1995 310: 43-46. [Extract] [Full Text]

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