BMJ 2005;330 (19 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7492.0-h
Editor's choice
Charcot would have approved
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
As he walked the wards of the Salpetriere Hospital in 19th century Paris, Charcot allegedly gave only two prognoses, solemnly pronouncing at the end of each bed "Il va mourir," or "Il va mourir aujourd'hui." A bleak message definitely, and bluntly delivered, but there is something enviable in its certainty and simplicity. Of course he was short of effective treatments, and accurate prognosis was often the only useful thing medicine could offer, so the art of prognosis was highly valued and was a big part of the medical curriculum.
Today, while death remains stubbornly inevitable, modern medicine can and does postpone it. But has this success made us forget the importance of prognosis? Murray and colleagues think it has (p 611), especially in people with progressive chronic disease. Being busy managing and monitoring a long term illness can prevent (or perhaps protect) us from seeing that the patient
Fiona Godlee, editor
(fgodlee@bmj.com)
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