Cardiopulmonary resuscitation for patients in a persistent vegetative state: futile or acceptable?
Year: 1998
Type: article
Abstract: Recent experiences relating to decisions about resuscitation have raisedtroubling questions for physicians caring for patients in a persistent veg-etative state (PVS): Do families have the right to demand cardiopul-monary resuscitation (CPR) for such patients? Must physicians accede to these demands, or may family wishes be overridden on grounds of futility? A case de-scription is presented here to illustrate the situation; this case reflects the au-thor’s experience and does not refer to any particular patient. A 65-year-old retired corporate vice-president who was an Orthodox Jew be-came ill with pneumonia; he needed mechanical ventilation and was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). His course in the ICU was complicated by adult respiratory distress syndrome, prolonged ventilation requiring tra-cheostomy and subsequent chronic pulmonary insufficiency. During his stay in the ICU, cardiopulmonary arrest occurred. Although resuscitation efforts were successful, the patient suffered severe anoxic encephalopathy secondary to the cardiac arrest and remained in a PVS. Three months after the cardiac arrest the neurologist concluded that the patient’s chances for meaningful recovery were remote. When the family was approached about a do-not-resuscitate (DNR)
Source: Europe PMC (PubMed Central)
Author: C Weijer
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2141191949