Clin Infect Dis. 2026 Jul 28:ciag440. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciag440. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

In a case of a patient with postoperative septic arthritis and hardware-associated osteomyelitis due to methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus that is susceptible to multiple oral agents, the clinician must navigate not only a treatment decision between oral and intravenous antibiotics but also the ethical tension between evidence-based practice and the patient's social instability. We examined 3 interrelated ethical conflicts: balancing clinician-patient relationship with organizational priorities, weighing the benefits and harms of competing treatment decisions, and considering how patient vulnerability may shape professional duties.

PMID:42516049 | DOI:10.1093/cid/ciag440