title: Ethical dilemma: the SCI patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.
abstract: Spinal cord injury alone is a disability that takes all an individual's strength, both mental and physical, to overcome. Even after months of hard work by the SCI individual and health care professionals, there are still those who do not cope with or successfully overcome this disability. As the number of people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) increases and these persons continue to remain typically asymptomatic for indefinite periods of time before they develop AIDS, it is reasonable to think that they will have the same incidence of traumatic injuries and illnesses (such as SCI) that others of the same group will have. The high cost of SCI rehabilitation is already exceeding the available funding. The practicality of attempting to rehabilitate an SCI patient who is perhaps unable to fully participate in the standardized, vigorous program because of another debilitating disease, AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), has yet to be decided. It follows that this will create a dilemma for the health care population that may be one of this nation's worst and potentially unsolvable problems.
authors.forename: F L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: McOuat
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000451:nursing*; D000328:Adult; D004993:Ethics, Nursing; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018579:Patient Selection; D040841:Resource Allocation; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000451:nursing*