COVID-19 pandemic causing medical and public health ethical dilemmas: A case report and review of literature

Jarelys Hernandez; Barbara  Lubrano di Ciccone; Sarah Thirlwell; Margaret  Booth-Jones; Sadaf Aslam; John Greene

doi:10.4081/qrmh.2021.9690

Authors

Jarelys Hernandez
jarelysh@usf.edu
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and International Medicine, United States.
Barbara Lubrano di Ciccone Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, University of South Florida, Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa; Department of Supportive Care Medicine, Division of Behavioral Medicine, United States.
Sarah Thirlwell Department of Supportive Care Medicine, Division of Palliative Medicine, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, Florida, United States.
Margaret Booth-Jones Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, University of South Florida, Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa; Department of Supportive Care Medicine, Division of Behavioral Medicine, United States.
Sadaf Aslam Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and International Medicine, United States.
John Greene Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and International Medicine, United States. https://orcid.org/

The COVID-19 pandemic presented myriad of unprecedented and daunting ethical dilemmas to healthcare workers, patients, their families, and the public health. Here we present a case of a 42-years-old Hispanic female with underlying hematological malignancy that developed severe SARS-COV-2 infection amidst the pandemic. This case illustrates some remarkable ethical dilemmas during pandemic times, including the lack of advanced directive planning, the repercussions of restricting family visits, and what ethics in crisis and moral injury entails. Identifying the ethical challenges emerging from the pandemic will assist physicians and other providers in making proper decisions and maintaining the best standard of care.

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Hernandez, Jarelys, Barbara Lubrano di Ciccone, Sarah Thirlwell, Margaret Booth-Jones, Sadaf Aslam, and John Greene. 2021. “COVID-19 Pandemic Causing Medical and Public Health Ethical Dilemmas: A Case Report and Review of Literature”. Qualitative Research in Medicine and Healthcare 5 (1). https://doi.org/10.4081/qrmh.2021.9690.