Abstract
Purpose
The background to a current analysis of the management of “do not resuscitate” (DNR) orders in the operating room is reviewed, with an emphasis on the current status of resuscitation/DNR issues in Canada.
Source
The Joint Statement on Resuscitative Interventions published by the Canadian Medical Association and cooperating organizations and the report of the Senate of Canada Special Committee on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide are examined for information relevant to the DNR issue. Guidelines on the management of DNR orders in the operating room, published by the American Society of Anesthesiologists and the American College of Surgeons are used to provide a perioperative DNR order management approach consistent with the Joint Statement on Resuscitative Interventions.
Principal findings and conclusions
The dominant principle is that of the patient’s right to self determination. This right can be exercised either directly by the patient, or through an appropriate alternate, or in the form of an advance directive. DNR orders are not incompatible with subsequent surgical care in an operating room. It is wrong to suspend automatically DNR orders in the perioperative period. It is wrong to continue DNR orders automatically in the perioperative period. It is wrong to make assumptions about the meaning of an individual DNR order. An appropriate approach to the perioperative management of pre-existing DNR orders is one based on “required reconsideration.” All anaesthetists must be aware of their responsibilities in managing patients with DNR orders in place.
Résumé
Objectif
Analyser la gestion de la consigne NPR (ne pas réanimer) en salle d’opération à la lumière des problèmes suscités par la réanimation et le NPR au Canada.
Source
La Déclaration conjointe sur la réanimation publiée par l’Association médicale canadienne et des organismes collaborateurs et le rapport du Comité spécial du sénat canadien sur l’euthanasie et le suicide assisté ont été consultés sur les données pertinentes à la question du NPR. Les directives portant sur la consigne NPR en salle d’opération, publiées par l’American Society of Anesthesiologists et l’American College of Surgeons ont été utilisées pour la préparation d’une approche périopératoire cohérente avec la Déclaration conjointe sur la réanimation.
Conclusion des données principales
Le droit du patient à disposer de lui-même est le principe qui prévaut. Ce droit peut être exercé directement par le patient ou par un substitut ou encore à la suite d’une directive préable. La consigne de NPR n ’exclut pax une chirurgie ultérieure. Il est mal de suspendre ou de maintenir automatiquement la consigne de NPR à la période périopératoire. Il est mal de faire des suppositions sur la consigne NPR. Il est pertinent de toujours reconsidérer une consigne antérieure de NPR à la période périopératoire. Tous les anesthésistes doivent reconnaître leur responsabilité lorsqu’ils ont la charge d’un patient sous directive NPR.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Kouwenhoven WB, Jude JR, Knickerbocker GG. Closed-chest cardiac massage. JAMA 1960; 173: 1064–7.
Joint Statement on Resuscitative Interventions. Can Med Assoc J 1994; 151: 1176A–C.
Joint Statement on Resuscitative Interventions (Update 1995). Can Med Assoc J 1995; 153: 1652A–C.
Of Life and Death. Report of the Special Senate Committee on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide. Senate of Canada. June 1995.
Ethical Guidelines for the Anesthesia Care of Patients With Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders or Other Directives That Limit Treatment. (1993). American Society of Anesthesiologists, Park Ridge, Illinois. (ASA Directory of Members 1996; 400–1).
Statement on advance directives by patients: “do not resus citate” in the operating room. American College of Surgeons, Chicago, Illinois. Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons, September 1994.
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Part 1, Canada Act, 1982.
Malette v. Shulman (1990), 72 O.R. 2d 417 (Ontario, Canada). Discussed in: Health Care and the Law. Chapter 9 151–67.In: Molloy W (Ed.). Vital Choices. Life, Death and the Health Care Crisis. Toronto, Ont: Viking Press, 1993.
The Health Care Directives Act. Province of Manitoba, 1992.
Rasooly I, Lavery JV, Urowitz S et al. Hospital policies on life-sustaining treatments and advance directives in Canada. Can Med Assoc J 1994; 150: 1265–70.
Cohen CB, Cohen PJ. Do-not-resuscitate orders in the operating room. N Engl J Med 1991; 325: 1879–82.
Truog RD. “Do-not-resuscitate” orders during anesthesia and surgery. Anesthesiology 1991; 74: 606–8.
Keffer MJ, Keffer HL. Do-not-resuscitate in the operating room: moral obligations of anesthesiologists. Anesth Analg 1992; 74: 901–5.
Margolis JO, McGrath BJ, Kussin PS, Schwinn DA. Do not resuscitate (DNR) orders during surgery: ethical foun dations for institutional policies in the United States. Anesth Analg 1995; 80: 806–9.
Scheeter WP. Withdrawing and withholding life support in geriatric surgical patients. Surg Clin N Amer 1994; 74: 245–59.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Craig, D.B. Do not resuscitate orders in the operating room. Can J Anaesth 43, 840–851 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03013037
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03013037