Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019 Oct 14;31(3):386-392.
doi: 10.5935/0103-507X.20190051. eCollection 2019.

How to discuss about do-not-resuscitate in the intensive care unit?

[Article in Portuguese, English]
Cassiano Teixeira  1   2   3   4 , Paulo Ricardo Cerveira Cardoso  4
Affiliations
Review

How to discuss about do-not-resuscitate in the intensive care unit?

[Article in Portuguese, English]
Cassiano Teixeira et al. Rev Bras Ter Intensiva. .

Abstract
in English, Portuguese

The improvement in cardiopulmonary resuscitation quality has reduced the mortality of individuals treated for cardiac arrest. However, survivors have a high risk of severe brain damage in cases of return of spontaneous circulation. Data suggest that cases of cardiac arrest in critically ill patients with non-shockable rhythms have only a 6% chance of returning of spontaneous circulation, and of these, only one-third recover their autonomy. Should we, therefore, opt for a procedure in which the chance of survival is minimal and the risk of hospital death or severe and definitive brain damage is approximately 70%? Is it worth discussing patient resuscitation in cases of cardiac arrest? Would this discussion bring any benefit to the patients and their family members? Advanced discussions on do-not-resuscitate are based on the ethical principle of respect for patient autonomy, as the wishes of family members and physicians often do not match those of patients. In addition to the issue of autonomy, advanced discussions can help the medical and care team anticipate future problems and, thus, better plan patient care. Our opinion is that discussions regarding the resuscitation of critically ill patients should be performed for all patients within the first 24 to 48 hours after admission to the intensive care unit.

A melhoria da qualidade da ressuscitação cardiopulmonar vem reduzindo a mortalidade dos indivíduos atendidos em parada cardiorrespiratória. Porém, os sobreviventes apresentam risco elevado de dano cerebral grave em caso de retorno à circulação espontânea. Dados sugerem que paradas cardiorrespiratórias, que ocorram em pacientes criticamente doentes com ritmos cardíacos não chocáveis, apresentem somente 6% de chance de retorno à circulação espontânea e, destes, somente um terço consiga recuperar sua autonomia. Optaríamos, assim, pela realização de um procedimento em que a chance de sobrevida é mínima, e os sobreviventes apresentam risco de aproximadamente 70% de morte hospitalar ou dano cerebral grave e definitivo? Valeria a pena discutir se este paciente é ou não ressuscitável, em caso de parada cardiorrespiratória? Esta discussão traria algum benefício ao paciente e a seus familiares? As discussões avançadas de não ressuscitação se baseiam no princípio ético do respeito pela autonomia do paciente, pois o desejo dos familiares e dos médicos, muitas vezes, não se correlaciona adequadamente aos dos pacientes. Não somente pela ótica da autonomia, as discussões avançadas podem ajudar a equipe médica e assistencial a anteciparem problemas futuros, fazendo-os planejar melhor o cuidado dos enfermos. Ou seja, nossa opinião é a de que discussões sobre ressuscitação ou não dos pacientes criticamente doentes devam ser realizadas em todos os casos internados na unidade de terapia intensiva logo nas primeiras 24 a 48 horas de internação.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest: None.

References

    1. Girotra S, Nallamothu BK, Spertus JA, Li Y, Krumholz HM, Chan PS, American Heart Association Get with the Guidelines-Resuscitation Investigators Trends in survival after in-hospital cardiac arrest. N Engl J Med. 2012;367(20):1912–1920. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ofoma UR, Basnet S, Berger A, Kirchner HL, Girotra S, American Heart Association Get With the Guidelines - Resuscitation Investigators Trends in survival after in-hospital cardiac arrest during nights and weekends. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2018;71(4):402–411. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Meaney PA, Nadkarni VM, Kern KB, Indik JH, Halperin HR, Berg RA. Rhythms and outcomes of adult in-hospital cardiac arrest. Crit Care Med. 2010;38(1):101–108. - PubMed
    1. Olasveengen TM, de Caen AR, Mancini ME, Maconochie IK, Aickin R, Atkins DL, Berg RA, Bingham RM, Brooks SC, Castrén M, Chung SP, Considine J, Couto TB, Escalante R, Gazmuri RJ, Guerguerian AM, Hatanaka T, Koster RW, Kudenchuk PJ, Lang E, Lim SH, Løfgren B, Meaney PA, Montgomery WH, Morley PT, Morrison LJ, Nation KJ, Ng KC, Nadkarni VM, Nishiyama C, Nuthall G, Ong GY, Perkins GD, Reis AG, Ristagno G, Sakamoto T, Sayre MR, Schexnayder SM, Sierra AF, Singletary EM, Shimizu N, Smyth MA, Stanton D, Tijssen JA, Travers A, Vaillancourt C, Van de Voorde P, Hazinski MF, Nolan JPILCOR Collaborators 2017 International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science with Treatment Recommendations Summary. Circulation. 2017;136(23):e424–e440. Erratum in Circulation. 2017;136(25):e468. - PubMed
    1. Nassar BS, Kerber R. Improving CPR performance. Chest. 2017;152(5):1061–1069. - PubMed