Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in Teaching Hospitals

Excerpt

To the Editors: Although cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was originally conceived as an intervention to reverse acute cardiac arrest in otherwise healthy patients, it has recently evolved into a desperate attempt to revive the dying. Because of its low success rate and its great potential for harm, CPR should not be initiated thoughtlessly. Decisions to resuscitate patients, like decisions to withhold CPR, should reflect thoughtful discussion, deliberate analysis, and serious consideration. Unfortunately, despite widespread attention devoted to this issue in the academic literature and in the popular press, explicit resuscitation directives such as do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders are still often absent when