Is discussing futile treatments really best for dying patients?

摘要

When US doctors were asked if they would want cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the case of major cerebral injury, 90% of them said no thank you. CPR, as with all treatments, has limitations and side effects, causing bodily injury and, in terminal illness, a medicalised death. It changes our last minutes from what could be a peaceful process into a medical battleground. And it's been found to be "futile" in patients receiving palliative care for cancer. So it's a concern that the Court of Appeal has found that doctors breached a British patient's right to a private life when they added a "Do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation" (DNACPR) order to her notes without her knowledge.