Ethics Governance
Ethics & Governance - Resources and Articles |
| Articles indexes: a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | i | j | k | l | m | n | o | p | q | r | s | t | u | v | w | x | y | z | other | |
|
|
| Article - Abstract. To view full article click on the article title. | |
MJA: Ryan, Matters of life and death: the challenge of CPR decision making Matters of life and death: the challenge of CPR decision making How can we improve patient involvement in this complex process? MJA 1998; 169: 124-125 Since its introduction in the 1960s and subsequent widespread dissemination, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has saved the lives of many who would otherwise have perished. Today, whenever a patient's heart stops beating, carers are faced with an extraordinary choice. Either they may do nothing and allow the patient to die, or they may use CPR and try to breathe life back into the dying individual. How should this choice be made? Over the past 20 years numerous studies have sought opinions on this dilemma. In this issue of the Journal Kerridge et al report on the first Australian survey into the attitudes of hospital inpatients and staff.1 The authors used a simple cross-sectional design to quiz both patients and healthcare professionals at Newcastle's John Hunter Hospital. They sought attitudes on a range of matters concerning CPR and the decision-making processes that surround its use. Despite the study's shortcomings, such as relatively low response rates and the treatment of the study population as homogeneous, the results contain some interesting and apparently paradoxical findings. Although a large proportion of both patients and healthcare professionals felt that doctors should always ask patients whether they would like CPR, only a very small percentage of patients had actually discussed CPR with their doctors. This perplexing result mirrors the findings of international studies that surveyed far sicker inpatient samples. In two studies, Bedell and co-workers examined patients in Boston who had either required CPR or had been the recipients of do-not-resuscitate orders. Only about 20% of these patients had been involved in their own CPR decisions.2,3 Why is CPR decision making such a difficult issue, and what could be done to improve matters? The hardest thing about CPR decision making is the timing of the decision. Full Article: http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/aug3/ryan/ryan.html |
|
2006 Ethics-Governance.com |
|||