This article explores ethical decision making in the prehospital emergency setting with particular attention to emergency cardiac care. The first sections argue in support of current efforts to develop portable do-not-resuscitate (DNR) policies enabling patients' wishes to be honored outside the hospital setting. We then turn to the topic of futile resuscitation, and elaborate and defend a proposal to allow emergency personnel to cease futile resuscitation in the field. We submit that unlike the decision to write a DNR order, the judgment that resuscitation is futile ought not to depend on a patient's prior wishes. Instead, it should reflect a professional consensus and receive support from reliable empirical data. Finally, we acknowledge the difficulty of rendering reliable determinations of futility in the field, and show through case examples and empirical studies how effective policies can be implemented.
In emergency situations it is sometimes assumed that health care providers must use
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Country-Specific Mortality and Growth Failure in Infancy and Yound Children and Association With Material Stature
Use interactive graphics and maps to view and sort country-specific infant and early dhildhood mortality and growth failure data and their association with maternal
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