Compliance with Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders for Hospitalized Patients Transported to Radiology Departments

15 November 1998 | Volume 129 Issue 10 | Pages 801-805

Background: Little is known about the effectiveness of do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders during transport of hospitalized patients away from their rooms.

Objective: To determine compliance with DNR orders in radiology departments.

Design: Observational study.

Setting: 248 hospital-based radiology departments.

Participants: 248 radiology department representatives.

Measurements: 10-item questionnaire examining the response of radiology personnel to patients with DNR orders who experience cardiopulmonary arrest.

Results: Written DNR protocols and structured procedures for communicating DNR status were used by 18.5% (CI, 13.7% to 23.4%) and 18.1% (CI, 13.3% to 23.0%) of departments, respectively. Medical chart review was the only source of information on DNR status for 41.5% (CI, 35.4% to 47.7%) of departments. It was found that 20.2% of respondents (CI, 15.2% to 25.2%) would resuscitate patients with DNR orders and that 38.3% (CI, 32.3% to 44.4%) had resuscitated patients with DNR orders in the past.

Conclusions: Most radiology departments do not have formal procedures to prevent patients from undergoing unwanted or inappropriate resuscitative interventions, and DNR orders are frequently overruled.

Author and Article Information

From Mercy Health Services Research Group, St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona; and University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, Tucson, Arizona.
Acknowledgments: The authors thank the members of the radiology departments who participated in the study.
Requests for Reprints: John E. Heffner, MD, Department of Medicine, Room 812 CSB, Medical University of South Carolina, 171 Ashley Avenue, Charleston, SC 29425.
Current Author Addresses: Dr. Heffner: Department of Medicine, Room 812 CSB, Medical University of South Carolina, 171 Ashley Avenue, Charleston, SC 29425.