Peter Buxtun, the Tuskegee study whistleblower: Memorandum of a hero

Abstract

Introduction

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study, a dark chapter in medical history, still resonates today. The Tuskegee Study, conducted between 1932 and 1972 by the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is the longest controversial study performed in the U.S. Peter Buxtun, an epidemiologist at the USPHS, raised ethical concerns about the study and eventually leaked the story to the press, leading to the study's termination. Buxtun has died at the age of 86. It is imperative to remember this study and the heroic actions of Buxtun to expose this ethically unjustified study.

Results and discussion

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study included 399 African American men with syphilis in Tuskegee, Alabama. The participants were promised free medical care to participate in the study; however, they were not informed of their diagnosis of syphilis and they were not treated. Despite the availability of penicillin in 1943, these men were still untreated by the USPHS as the study design was to evaluate the full progression of untreated syphilis on the body. As a result, 28 died directly from syphilis and 100 from complications, 40 spouses were infected, and 19 children were born with congenital syphilis. Buxtun leaked the story to the press in 1972, leading to the termination of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study.

Implications

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study is the longest ethically and morally controversial study in the U.S., mainly based on the lack of respect of the African American race. It disregarded ethical standards and physicians participating in it directly violated the Hippocratic Oath to “do no harm.” The medical community is forever indebted to Buxtun who died on May 18, 2024, for his courage, moral compass, and compassion.