Ethics in Neonatal Anesthesia – A Tender Perioperative Care

Abstract

Medical ethics, a set of norms and values applied to the behavior of medical care personnel, has been evolving along with the scientific and technical development in the field of neonatology, surgery, and anesthesia. Regarding the anesthetic management of a neonate, an anesthesiologist is always in an ethical dilemma. On one side, anesthesia is a necessity for surgery, and on the other hand, knowing that these interventions may have untoward or adverse effects. Autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, and justice are the four basic principles of medical ethics, which are used in harmony with each other without any order of succession and along with virtues of compassion, integrity, honesty, truthfulness, and fairness provides an ethical decision-making framework for a tender perioperative care. Professionalism in the operating room and anesthesiologist – surgeon relationship is an integral part of the ethical concerns in neonatal anesthesia.