Background: Many physicians hesitate to discuss do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders with patients or family members in critical situations. In the intensive care unit (ICU), delayed DNR decisions could cause unintentional cardiopulmonary resuscitation, patient distress, and substantial cost. We investigated whether the timing of DNR designation affects patient outcome in the medical ICU. Methods: W...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the consistency between treatments provided and Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) orders. DESIGN Retrospective chart abstraction. SETTING Stratified, random sample of 90 nursing facilities in Oregon, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. PARTICIPANTS Eight hundred seventy living and deceased nursing facility residents aged 65 and older with a minimum 60...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the relationship between two methods to communicate treatment preferences (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) program vs traditional practices) and documentation of life-sustaining treatment orders, symptom assessment and management, and use of life-sustaining treatments. DESIGN Retrospective observational cohort study conducted between June 2006 and...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the local use of written "Do not resuscitate" orders to designate inpatients unsuitable for cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the event of cardiac arrest. DESIGN Point prevalence questionnaire survey of inpatients' medical and nursing records. SETTING 10 acute medical and six acute surgical wards of a district general hospital. PARTICIPANTS Questionnaires were filled ...

magnetic resonance imaging (mri) uses a constant magnetic field and radio waves, a non-invasive method for examining tissues, organs and the skeletal system. the advantages and disadvantages of mri is not fully understood. in the computerized tumor (ct) scan, as an invasive method, the x-rays of the body is used for tomography; which different x-ray attenuation coefficient in tissues as well as...

OBJECTIVE 1. To reduce errors in the ordering of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH). 2. To develop a pragmatic low-cost medical information system to achieve this goal. METHODS We designed an online total parenteral nutrition order entry system (TPNCalculator) using Internet technologies. Total development time was th...