Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation of Elderly Persons
Authors: Harold Rosen
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1989)

Letters and Corrections1 October 1989Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation of Elderly PersonsHarold Rosen, MDHarold Rosen, MDSearch for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-111-7-618 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptTo the Editor:I found the article by Murphy and colleagues (1) regarding the generally poor outcome of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the elderly very interesting. The authors suggest that because there are subgroups of elderly patients that have a very slim chance of a good outcome with cardiopulmonary resuscitation, that we consider withholding it. I would argue, though, that cardiopulmonary resuscitation clearly is effective in restoring life to some elderly patients. The alternative is certain death, so what do we have to lose by trying cardiopulmonary resuscitation in these patients? The answer obviously is that the downside risk to doing...Reference1. MurphyMurrayRobinsonCampion DABE. Outcomes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the elderly. Ann Intern Med. 1989;111:199-205. LinkGoogle Scholar1. Podrid P. Resuscitation in the elderly: a blessing or a curse? [Editorial]. Ann Intern Med. 1989;111:193-5. LinkGoogle Scholar2. . American College of Physicians ethics manual. Part 1: history; the patient; other physicians. 1989;111:245-52. Google Scholar1. Podrid P. Resuscitation in the elderly: a blessing or a curse? [Editorial]. Ann Intern Med. 1989;111:193-5. LinkGoogle Scholar2. GoldsteinCampionMulleyThibault REAG. Nursing home patients admitted to a medical intensive care unit. Med Care. 1984;22:854-62. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar1. MurphyMurrayRobinsonCampion DABE. Outcomes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the elderly. Ann Intern Med. 1989;111:199-205. LinkGoogle Scholar2. Podrid P. Resuscitation in the elderly: a blessing or a curse? [Editorial]. 1989;111:193-5. Google Scholar3. Blackhall L. Must we always use CPR? N Engl J Med. 1987;317:1281-4. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar1. MurphyMurrayRobinsonCampion DABE. Outcomes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the elderly. [Editorial] Ann Intern Med. 1989;111:199-205. LinkGoogle Scholar2. Podrid P. Resuscitation in the elderly: a blessing or a curse? [Editorial] Ann Intern Med 1989;111:193-5. LinkGoogle Scholar3. TaffetTeasdaleLuchi GTR. In-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation. JAMA. 1988;260:2069-72. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. BedellDelbancoCookEpstein STEF. Survival after cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the hospital. N Engl J Med. 1983;309:569-76. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Moss A. Informing the patient about cardiopulmonary resuscitation: when the risks outweigh the benefits. J Gen Intern Med. 1989;4:349-55. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Beth Israel Hospital Boston, MA 02115 PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics 1 October 1989Volume 111, Issue 7Page: 618-620KeywordsCardiopulmonary resuscitationElderly Issue Published: 1 October 1989 PDF downloadLoading ...