Abstract

A 15-year-old patient is taken by his parents to the emergency department of a tertiary care health institution for a severe respiratory problem. In the emergency room after the clinical examination supported by diagnostic aids, it was decided to admit him for medical treatment for severe pneumonia of an etiology to be defined. During Hospitalization it is found that the patient suffers from AIDS which is explained to his parents and the patient. The parents ask that the diagnosis not be revealed to prevent their son from being discriminated against. The patient dies during hospitalization and the information that the parents reveal to their relatives and acquaintances is that the cause of death was leukemia. During a multicenter investigative process designed to evaluate the behavior of the disease in the last ten years, one of the research assistants, taking data from a clinical history, finds that the patient, who was his acquaintance, has died of AIDS and not of leukemia and proceeds to reveal this information in his social environment, which causes great pain and discomfort to the parents, who claim the institution for the violation of the confidential handling of sensitive information of their son. The case is analyzed by the CEI of the institution and other instances.