BACKGROUND Enucleation (eye removal) is often the only curative treatment for the childhood eye cancer retinoblastoma, yet parental refusal of enucleation commonly contributes to treatment delay and poor survival globally. METHODS Physicians who treat retinoblastoma were surveyed to glean underlying reasons for treatment refusal. RESULTS Refusal rates were higher when less time was spent wi...

Psychiatrists have proposed broadened commitment statues based on need for care and treatment, and under which judges have no role in deciding cases of treatment refusal. The mental health bar has consistently opposed these proposals on constitutional and common law grounds. The authors propose new commitment criteria based on incompetency to decide about hospitalization, and inability to live ...

z Evidence summary The law of informed consent defines the right to informed refusal. Thus, each case must establish: 1) that the patient or decision maker is competent, 2) that the decision is voluntary, and 3) that the physician disclosed the risks of the choice to the patient, including a discussion of risks and alternatives to treatment, and potential consequences of treatment refusal, incl...

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine rates of treatment refusal and premature termination for pharmacotherapy alone, psychotherapy alone, pharmacotherapy plus psychotherapy, and psychotherapy plus pill placebo treatments. A systematic review of the literature resulted in 186 comparative trials that included a report of treatment refusal and/or premature termination for at least 2 of...