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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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"Do not resuscitate"
— how? why? and when? | | Author(s) | Ursula Skerritt, Brice Pitt |
| Journal title | International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol 12, no 6, June 1997 |
| Pages | pp 667-670 |
| Keywords | Medical care ; Casualty services ; Diagnosis. |
| Annotation | The medical and nursing notes of all 139 inpatients, age range 16-100 years, in an inner city district general hospital on a single day were examined to determine resuscitation status, age, sex and diagnosis of each patient. A decision not to resuscitate had been taken in 28 (20%) of cases. 'Do not resuscitate' (DNR) patients were significantly older and more likely to suffer from malignant and cardiorespiratory disease. Patients with dementia and other psychiatric disorders were not significantly more often labelled DNR. Evidence of consultation for these decisions was lacking and the recording erratic. The authors point to the need to devise and implement comprehensive guidelines, with appropriate and comprehensive documentation outlining the reasons why and how the decision was taken, who was consulted, and the review date. This is an important area for audit. |
| Accession Number | CPA-970807248 A |
| Classmark | LK: LK8: LK7 |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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