title: Lip-reading and the ventilated patient.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To present a clinical ethics case report that illustrates the benefits of using lip-reading interpreters for ventilated patients who are capable of mouthing words.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case report.
  
  
  METHODS
  The burn unit of a university teaching hospital in New York City.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 75-yr-old man was admitted to the burn unit with 50% total body surface area burns. He was awake, alert, ventilator-dependent via a tracheostomy, and able to mouth words.
  
  
  METHODS
  A deaf lip-reading interpreter and a hearing American sign language interpreter worked together in a circuit formation to provide verbal voice for the patient.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For the ventilated patient who can mouth words, lip-reading interpretation offers an opportunity for communication. It is time we routinely provide lip-reading interpreters as well as recognize the need for prospective studies examining the role of lip-reading in medical settings.
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Ethics, Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University, New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, NY, USA. elc9076@med.cornell.edu
authors.forename: Ellen C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Meltzer
authors.forename: James J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Gallagher
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Suppes
authors.forename: Joseph J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Fins
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002056:Burns / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006801:Humans; D008085:Lipreading; D008297:Male; D012121:Respiration, Artificial / Q000523:psychology*