Should families be present during resuscitation?Weigh the pros and cons of family presence during a crisis, then tell us what you think.

摘要

A 52-YEAR-OLD WOMAN pushes open the door of an emergency department (ED) room and walks straight into a nightmare-cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in progress on her husband. Having left the room for just a few minutes to make a phone call, she returns to find the situation gravely different from the one she'd left. Yes, he'd been in pain, but he'd assured her he'd be fine. He'd had chest pain in the past and waved it off, blaming indigestion. But what's happening now can't be ignored-not by her or by ED team members who now have to abruptly factor her unexpected presence into their code blue response.