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The Ethical Pain

Detection and Management of Pain and Suffering in Disorders of Consciousness

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Abstract

The intriguing issue of pain and suffering in patients with disorders of consciousness (DOCs), particularly in Unresponsive Wakefulness Syndrome/Vegetative State (UWS/VS) and Minimally Conscious State (MCS), is assessed from a theoretical point of view, through an overview of recent neuroscientific literature, in order to sketch an ethical analysis. In conclusion, from a legal and ethical point of view, formal guidelines and a situationist ethics are proposed in order to best manage the critical scientific uncertainty about pain and suffering in DOCs and ensure the best possible care for the patient.

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Notes

  1. The definition of pain is available on-line at http://www.iasp-pain.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Pain_Definitions&Template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=1728#Pain (accessed 21/09/2010).

  2. In what follows, if not specified, we will refer to pain as the general phenomenon including these two components.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the European Neuroscience and Society Network (ENSN), a research program funded by European Science Foundation (ESF). Special thanks to Steven Laureys and the Coma Science Group of the University of Liège (Belgium), where I spent my Exchange Grant by ENSN.

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  1. Department of Philosophy, Pontifical Faculty of Theology of Southern Italy, ‘S. Tommaso d’Aquino’, Naples, Viale Colli Aminei, 2, 80131, Naples, Italy

    Michele Farisco

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Correspondence to Michele Farisco.

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Farisco, M. The Ethical Pain. Neuroethics 6, 265–276 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12152-011-9111-y

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