Ethicists’ commentary on fabricating the cause of death
Ethical question of the month, November 2022
Veterinary pathologists regularly encounter numerous cases in which a diagnosis cannot be determined. In one such case, a healthy, indoor-only, 12-year-old, neutered male, Maine coon cat mix is suddenly found deceased. The owner cannot think of any toxin exposure and routinely brought her cat for annual veterinary visits. The cat has no prior history of disease, is up-to-date on vaccinations and eats a veterinary prescription diet exclusively. The body is submitted for necropsy and the cat is in good body condition; there are no significant findings on external or internal examination, including evaluation of the cardiovascular system. Pathologist A believes that the owner’s grieving should be remedied and reports that the cat died of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. This disease is not uncommon in middle-aged cats and may present with sudden death. She goes on to tell the owner that nothing could have been done to detect it sooner and the owner is somewhat relieved and none the wiser. Was the pathologist’s decision to address the owner’s grief over providing an accurate diagnosis ethical?
Clare Palmer, Peter Sandøe, & Dan Weary comment on this dilemma and you can read it here: Ethicists’ commentary on fabricating the cause of death (pdf)