Does the end justify the expense?
RESUMO
The case is described of a 70-year-old man, recently retired but fit and independent, except for haemophilia from which he had suffered all his life. However, he then had rectal bleeding for which he required treatment in hospital. To counteract the bleeding tendency he was transfused with various blood products but none was successful, and finally after an operation to determine precisely the source of the rectal bleeding, he developed peritonitis and died. Apart from the cost of hospital inpatient treatment and the blood products available from blood banks, £8500 was spent on blood products bought in the USA.
