[Towards ethical care in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study with international migrants in Chile].

International migrants have been recognized as a population at risk in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Worldwide, various strategies have been deployed for the protection of this population, such as the establishment of reception and quarantine or isolation centers. This article reports the results of a study that explored the experiences of international migrants in nursing homes in Chile created to ensure a safe quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic, from an approach of ethical conditions for care.

[Role of medical students in the accompaniment of patients. Reflections about a true case].

We share the experience of a clinical relationship that arose between a medical student and a patient hospitalized due to a SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia. The analysis of this experience and the discussion of medical students' possible role in patient care suggest that they should be included as members of the health care team during their clinical practice. This would mean a positive contribution for both the patients' care and the students' learning experience.

[A proposal of the Chilean Academy of Medicine to improve organ procurement and transplantation in Chile].

The Chilean Academy of Medicine designated a group of specialists to evaluate the practice and to propose reforms for organ donation and transplantation, due to the general insufficiencies at the national level with these procedures. In the last six years the mean number of organ transplants in Chile was 340 cases per year while effective cadaveric donors ranged between 6 and 10 per million inhabitants. These averages remained stable during this period and are among the lowest in the region.

[Partial disclosure of information in the presence of presumable nocebo effects: an ethical analysis].

When prescribing a treatment, the physician should give truthful information about the likely benefits and the potential adverse effects, allowing the patient to make an autonomous decision about whether to take the treatment. However, the mere expectation of adverse effects may precipitate the corresponding symptoms. This is called "nocebo effect", which in contrast to the placebo effect, can lead to harm to the patient due to psychological factors.

[Differentiated review of biomedical research projects by ethics committees].

Ten years after the approval of the Chilean bill that regulates scientific research in humans (Law Nº 20.120), and considering the current status of accreditation and training of many Research Ethics Committee (REC), it is necessary to analyze their performance. We analyzed the Chilean experience with REC aiming to propose a differential type of review, considering the risks to research participants.

[Ethical and health issues posed by the recent Ebola epidemic: What should we learn?].

The recent Ebola epidemic that affected several countries in Africa, with very high mortality and a pandemic threat, posed problems of justice, public health, prevention, treatment and research, each of which has relevant ethical issues. Despite severe initial difficulties, an effective international response was achieved, whose outcome has left significant teachings to be considered in order to deal with future epidemics or pandemics. In this article, the authors analyze the main problems faced during the Ebola epidemic, including the unequal distribution of health resources between countries, the need for international collaboration, the requirement for a review of the ethical standards of clinical trials in emergencies, and the necessity of an organized global system of prevention and timely response to these outbreaks.

[Medical, ethical and legal issues in cryopreservation of human embryos].

Embryo cryopreservation improves efficiency and security of assisted reproduction techniques. Nonetheless, it can be questionable, so it must be justified from technical, legal and ethical points of view. This article analyses these perspectives.

[Analysis of a clinical ethics consultation experience in intensive care].

Background: Very few patients are presented to ethics committees, and individual ethics consultations are a response to this situation. At the intensive care unit (ICU) in Clínica Alemana, Santiago Chile, an ethics consultation system was organized coordinated with the ethics committee.

Aim: To report an evaluation of this ethics consultation system.

[Ten myths about withdrawal of mechanical ventilation in terminal patients].

The most difficult of treatment limitation decisions, both for physicians and families, is the withdrawal of mechanical ventilation (MV). Many fears and uncertainties appear in this decision. They are described as ten myths whose falseness is argued in this article.

[Student patient relationship from the patient's point of view].

Background: Patients are becoming increasingly active in their relationship with medical professionals. Their relationship with medical students needing to learn clinical skills, may be specially problematic if patients are not willing to accept their involvement in the medical team.

Aim: To examine patient's perceptions of their relation with medical students and their agreement to let students be part of the treating team.

[The debate about the right to die].

The Right to Die is a debatable issue and some basic notions need to be clarified to discuss it. Death needs to be recognized as part of human life. The goal of medicine is to avoid pain and alleviate suffering, to prevent premature death and when this is not possible, to let it occur peacefully.

[Medicine in television. An ethical problem?].

Television programs where medical procedures are shown with progressive realism generate problems that physicians need to know and analyze. The authors analyze this issue, based on the respect to patient's dignity and the principles of bioethics. Medical programs on TV present specific problems to the different agents involved in them: TV media, physicians, health organization, public and patients or relatives that are exposed.