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Study: COVID-19 patients with Down syndrome 6x more likely to be given DNRs
Live Action News ^ | June 25, 2024 | Cassy Fiano-Chesser

Posted on 06/25/2024 9:21:54 PM PDT by Morgana

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was ongoing fear that those in the disability community would be discriminated against and have worse outcomes than their able-bodied peers. Tragically, these fears would turn out to be true, as people with disabilities were at least twice as likely to die. Now, a new study has revealed that patients with Down syndrome, specifically, were increasingly given do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders at much higher rates than the able-bodied population.

In a press release, Stephanie Santoro, assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, director of quality improvement research for the Down Syndrome Program at Mass General, and co-author of the study, said people with Down syndrome and a diagnosis of COVID-19 — or COVID pneumonia — were six times more likely to be given DNRs than similar patients without Down syndrome. “It seems like a lifetime ago, but early in the pandemic, extreme steps like rationing ventilators were being discussed,” she said of her reasoning behind the study. “In the Down syndrome community there was a lot of worry, of wanting to protect the rights of people with Down syndrome.”

Noting that people with Down syndrome were known to get sicker and need more supports when they contracted respiratory infections, Santoro said the research team had to ensure the DNRs weren’t being given merely because the prognosis for someone with Down syndrome was so much poorer. “We tried to compare some comorbidities — like intubation rates, if they had been in the ICU, or if they had come from acute care — but it didn’t pan out to have a similarly high odds ratio as the diagnosis of Down syndrome,” she said, adding, “Might people or their families be choosing DNR status when admitted with high acuity, life-threatening disease? We also wondered whether the folks with Down syndrome were older or if there was some other intervening covariable that would explain the high odds ratio of DNR status. But we couldn’t find anything that explained it.”

Though there are health conditions known to be associated with Down syndrome, medical advancements have been able to address many of them. “[I]n general, people with Down syndrome are leading healthy, happy, productive lives,” Santoro said. “I think the DNR status rate should likely be the same as for people without Down syndrome.”

This study is not an anomaly; a survey done in the United Kingdom likewise found that people with disabilities were being pressured to sign DNRs during the pandemic. Additionally, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence also told doctors that they should assess patients with disabilities for “frailty” before deciding whether or not they could be given life-saving treatments.

“[T]he thing that caused me more distress was when the government decided they were going to publish the frailty guidance,” one survey respondent said. “I looked to see how frail I am and am I going to be offered a ventilator if I need one. The reality according to that guidance was no, not necessarily, And, then thinking how can I prove my worth to people to make sure I get that treatment if needed.”


TOPICS: Health/Medicine
KEYWORDS: covid; covid19; dnr; downsyndrome; prolife; terrislist; trisomy21
more here:

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2024/06/more-dnr-orders-for-down-syndrome-patients-during-pandemic-covid-do-not-resuscitate/

1 posted on 06/25/2024 9:21:54 PM PDT by Morgana
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To: Morgana

Gee, I wonder why?


2 posted on 06/25/2024 9:24:37 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: Morgana

I thought one had to directly request a DNR, or hsve your Court Appointed Conservator make that decision.
I guess I thought wrong.


3 posted on 06/25/2024 9:30:39 PM PDT by lee martell
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To: lee martell
I thought one had to directly request a DNR, or hsve your Court Appointed Conservator make that decision.

That's ee-easy to circumvent!

Just badger the patient for a while, and then innocently ask, "Would you like to now directly request a DNR?"

Regards,

4 posted on 06/25/2024 10:07:23 PM PDT by alexander_busek (Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.)
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To: Morgana

Demonically influenced lost souls could be the only ones to do this.


5 posted on 06/25/2024 10:08:16 PM PDT by MAAG (The LORD does not choose sides, HE is a side.)
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To: Morgana

Eugenics in action. Paging Margaret Sanger...


6 posted on 06/25/2024 10:12:14 PM PDT by fidelis (Ecce Crucem Domini! Fugite partes adversae! Vicit Leo de tribu Juda, Radix David! Alleluia!)
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To: Morgana

https://naomiwolf.substack.com/p/graces-dad-tells-heartbreaking-story


7 posted on 06/25/2024 10:15:54 PM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: alexander_busek

Probably so, unfortunately.
People who have spent most their lives feeling frightened or not in charge, are easy to manipulate/ goad/ bully/ trick/; steamroll into quick decisions.


8 posted on 06/25/2024 10:19:23 PM PDT by lee martell
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To: 9YearLurker

Thanks for the heads up on that. I found more info and I’ll post it.


9 posted on 06/25/2024 11:21:02 PM PDT by Morgana ( Always a bit of truth in dark humor.)
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To: Morgana

Thanks. It’s a heart-breaking story, and her dad is a hero for fighting now as he is.


10 posted on 06/25/2024 11:23:46 PM PDT by 9YearLurker
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What’s the take for COVID deaths these days, $45k?


11 posted on 06/25/2024 11:52:00 PM PDT by Gene Eric (Don't be a statist! )
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To: fidelis

Yep. Covid was the perfect cover to cull the unwanted. Seniors in nursing home particularly hard hit.


12 posted on 06/26/2024 1:07:45 AM PDT by DeplorablePaul
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To: Morgana
Re: "6X times more likely to DNR"

Perhaps Down Syndrome victims do not want to live in a body that has become burdened by even more medical issues?

13 posted on 06/26/2024 4:16:26 AM PDT by zeestephen (Trump "Lost" By 43,000 Votes - Spread Across Three States - GA, WI, AZ)
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To: DeplorablePaul
[Covid was the perfect cover to cull the unwanted. Seniors in nursing home particularly hard hit.]

Josef Mengele was an amateur compared to this guy:


14 posted on 06/26/2024 4:30:01 AM PDT by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
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