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Updated: May 7, 2026
04:04
Transauricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Electroencephalographic Assessment in Disorders of Consciousness
Published on: July 11, 2025
The ethics of refusing a request for off-label deep brain stimulation currently in clinical trial
Continuum (Minneapolis, Minn.)
|October 5, 2013
Abstract:
Physicians must ensure that patients understand that the principal aim of research is to increase generalizable knowledge. However, patients may hope for individual benefit as a secondary goal of participation. Highly motivated patients may request treatment off label if trial enrollment has ended, leading to ethical dilemmas for clinicians. This case uses early deep brain stimulation (DBS) as an example for exploring the ethically relevant questions related to the off-label use of medical devices.
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