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. 1993 Dec;19(4):212–218. doi: 10.1136/jme.19.4.212

Neonatal extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO): clinical trials and the ethics of evidence.

V Mike 1, A N Krauss 1, G S Ross 1
PMCID: PMC1376341  PMID: 8308876

Abstract

Neonatal extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a technology for the treatment of respiratory failure in newborns, is used as a case study to examine statistical and ethical aspects of clinical trials and to illustrate a proposed 'ethics of evidence', an approach to medical uncertainty within the context of contemporary biomedical ethics. Discussion includes the twofold aim of the ethics of evidence: to clarify the role of uncertainty and scientific evidence in medical decision-making, and to call attention to the need to confront the irreducible nature of uncertainty.

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Selected References

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