Mr. K. is a 62-year-old man who lives alone. He was admitted 4 days ago to an extended-care facility on his third postoperative day for a right total knee replacement for care and rehabilitation until he can safely care for himself at home. He has prescribed hydrocodone with acetaminophen (Vicodin) for pain control. The prescription reads: “Vicodin (5 mg hydrocodone; 300 mg acetaminophen) one to two tablets every 4 to 6 hours as needed for pain.” He tells you that overall, his pain is not bad except when he comes back from physical therapy. Then it is “really roaring.” He also says he tries to take the drug just at that time so that he does not become addicted.
What type of pain is he having?
How will you know the severity of “really roaring” pain?
What specific type of drug is Vicodin?
What type of change(s) could be made in drug delivery with the current prescription to help relieve his pain more effectively? .
What will you tell him about his potential for addiction?
If he were to receive two Vicodin tablets every 4 hours around the clock, what would be his total dose of acetaminophen for the day?
ch can end up in a higher death count, for example, the Vietnam War. Moreover, he argued they must be part of the army, bear arms and apply to the rules of jus in bello. (Frowe (2011), Page 101-3). This suggests Frowe seeks a fair, just war between two participants avoiding non-combatant deaths, but wouldn’t this lead to higher death rate for combatants, as both sides have relatively equal chance to win since both use similar tactics? Nevertheless, arguably Frowe will argue that combatant can lawfully kill each other, showing this is just, which is also supported by Vittola, who states: ‘it is lawful to draw the sword and use it against malefactors (Begby et al (2006b), Page 309).’
In addition, Vittola expresses the extent of military tactics used, but never reaches a conclusion whether it’s lawful or not to proceed these actions, as he constantly found a middle ground, where it can be lawful to do such things but never always (Begby et al (2006b), Page 326-31). This is supported by Frowe, who measures the legitimate tactics according to proportionality and military necessity. It depends on the magnitude of how much damage done to one another, in order to judge the actions after a war. For example, one cannot simply nuke the terrorist groups throughout the middle-east, because it is not only proportional, it will damage the whole population, an unintended consequence. More importantly, the soldiers must have the right intention in what they are going to achieve, sacrificing the costs to their actions. For example: if soldiers want to execute all prisoners of war, they must do it for the right intention and for a just cause, proportional to the harm done to them. This is supported by Vittola: ‘not always lawful to execute all combatants…we must take account… scale of the injury inflicted by the enemy.’ This is further supported by Frowe approach, which is a lot more moral than Vittola’s view but implies the same agendas: ‘can’t be punished simply for fighting.’ This means one cannot simply punish another because they have been a combatant. They must be treated as humanely as possible. However, the situation is escalated if killing them can lead to peace and security, within the interests of all parties.
Overall, jus in bello suggests in wars, harm can only be used against combatants, never against the innocent. But in the end, the aim is to establish peace and security within the commonwealth. As Vittola’s conclusion: ‘the pursuit of justice for which he fights and the defence of his homeland’ is what nations should be fighting for in wars (Begby et al (2006b), Page 332). Thus, although today’s world has developed, we