BMJ  2003;327:222 (26 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7408.222-a

Letter

In search of a good death

Health professionals' beliefs may undermine effective pain relief for dying patients

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—Murray et al include pain relief for dying people among the essential health interventions that should be accessible for all, in developing countries.¹ Even developed countries, however, have different pain relief policies.

In Italy, where medicinal morphine consumption for 2000 ranked among the lowest in Europe,² a restrictive prescription law was held responsible for the undertreatment of pain. The law was modified but with little effect.^{3 4}

The results of a large survey of neonatal physicians and nurses in seven Western European countries (EURONIC) shed some light on additional factors undermining effective pain control in palliative care.⁵ When asked about acceptable ways of setting limits to intensive interventions felt to be no longer in the best interest of a baby, most respondents in every . . . [Full text of this article]

Unit of Epidemiology, Burlo Garofolo Maternal and Child Health Institute, Trieste and Regional Agency, 34100 Trieste, Italy marina.cuttini@arsanita.toscana.it

Regional Agency for Health of Tuscany, Florence, Italy

Division of Epidemiology, IFC, National Research Council, Pisa, Italy For the EURONIC Study Group

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Bambin Gesù Children's Hospital, Rome, Italy

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