English translation: the prognosis was so uncertain that other options had to be considered
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10:43 Nov 5, 2009
Slovak to English translations [PRO] Medical - Medical (general)
Slovak term or phrase:očakávané a predpokladané prežitie
Očakávané a predpokladané prežitie pacienta boli v takom stupni nezhody, ktorý nútil k zvažovaniu ďalších riešení.
I can't really see what the distinction is between očakávané and predpokládané.
Explanation: The other options being possibly e.g. palliative care, hospice care, funeral arrangements, etc
I think a slavish word-for-word translation here is not appropriate and maybe the context in the rest of the report will give more clues. You have already posted some snippets, and from those we know that this guy wasn't expected to make it anyway, so this would have been the logical course of action
As you well know, medical reports are not known for their literary prowess, this being a good example :) It is a bit like the UK police with their murdering of the English language in order to sound highbrow...
Thank you, Gerry, this seems the best option - I don't want to leave the reader nonplussed with a strange combination of words. 4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer
By reference to the Tokuhashi score, I found the equivalent of očekávané přežití to be life expectancy.
Then I found an instance (in a different context – product success) where předpokládané přežití means “expected to survive” (number 1, i.e. 100%) as opposed to “it’s (he’s) a goner” (number 6) – see the scale on page 41 of this link - http://is.muni.cz/th/43262/ff_m/diplomka.pdf
Might help to look at it from this aspect (“his life expectancy was incompatible with survival, so we had to think outside the box”). Meanwhile, in the real world...
Bu then again, if something is incompatible with life, I would have thought, that's it, you can't pull through. I mean, I really do not know. The Slovak sentence is just not right. I keep reading it again and again but do not understand it at all. It is just not right. God knows what the author meant by it or how he meant it. I am sorry, I must give up on this one now. :)
Perhaps, Gerry, this kind of general wording is best here. I have to admit I don't understand the logic of the sentence. The plural verb "boli", in particular, indicates that the writer is thinking about two different things, two kinds of survival...
It sounds the same as your previous entry - prognoza quoad vitam - so 'the prognosis was so uncertain that ...'
Automatic update in 00:
Answers
13 mins confidence:
expected and supposed survival
Explanation: I suppose it is just an example of tautology (repetition of the same thing in different words), which is actually quite common in English.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 52 mins (2009-11-05 11:35:23 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
But I see that the sentence is not clear at all. Because of "stupeň nezhody". "Očakávané" a "predpokladané" is quite the same. Or in other words, I do not see any distinction myself so what "nezhoda". Could it be they actually mean "nezhoda/nezlúčiteľnosť (so životom)" menaning: Expected and supposed survival of the patient was (eventually) so incompatible with life that... Oh, I just do not know... Sorry... I wanted to help but the provided piece of the Slovak text is just not very comprehensible.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 53 mins (2009-11-05 11:36:44 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Exactly. This is what I have just written about above.
Slavomir BELIS United Kingdom Local time: 00:06 Native speaker of: Slovak PRO pts in category: 18
Notes to answerer
Asker: Tautology: I've seen plenty of that!
Asker: I still feel I'm missing something. If there is nezhoda - a discrepancy? - between the "očakávané" and the "predpokladané" survival, then I don't understand the logic of the sentence. Perhaps it really is illogical.
Explanation: (life) expectancy and (hypothetical) presumption of survival (they)were in state (condition) of discord, which force them to consider of another solution
Maria Chmelarova Local time: 19:06 Works in field Native speaker of: Slovak PRO pts in category: 26
the prognosis was so uncertain that other options had to be considered
Explanation: The other options being possibly e.g. palliative care, hospice care, funeral arrangements, etc
I think a slavish word-for-word translation here is not appropriate and maybe the context in the rest of the report will give more clues. You have already posted some snippets, and from those we know that this guy wasn't expected to make it anyway, so this would have been the logical course of action
As you well know, medical reports are not known for their literary prowess, this being a good example :) It is a bit like the UK police with their murdering of the English language in order to sound highbrow...
Gerry Vickers Local time: 00:06 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 203
Grading comment
Thank you, Gerry, this seems the best option - I don't want to leave the reader nonplussed with a strange combination of words.
The translation workplace 
