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Mark Rosenberg, MD; Dave Hickam, MD
Portland, Ore

Kevin M. McIntyre, MD, JD
Boston, Mass

Arch Intern Med. 1994;154(11):1291-1295.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

We agree with Daniels that use of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for all hospital deaths is inappropriate. However, we do not feel that the results of our study¹ implied advocacy for such a clinical policy. Our study examined only the cases in two hospitals in which CPR was used. We did not study the cases in which a "do-not-resuscitate" order had been written by the primary physician. Our goal was to determine whether clinical variables could define a subset of the resuscitated cases in which CPR was futile. We were not able to identify clinical factors that defined such a patient group. Our results imply that the physicians had appropriately applied the relevant clinical factors already when they designated which patients should have a do-not-resuscitate status. We do not advocate any change in this existing clinical practice.

Discussion between physician and patient is crucial for making appropriate decisions about initiation . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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