Do-not-resuscitate decision making for terminally ill older patients in the emergency department: An explorative, descriptive inquiry of Chinese family members.

Many terminally ill older adults depend on family members to make medical decisions in China. Many family members find it difficult to make do-not-resuscitate (DNR) decisions in emergency departments (ED). Currently, factors that affect DNR decision making by family members for older adults needing emergency care have not been well studied.

Death and do-not-resuscitate order in the emergency department: A single-center three-year retrospective study in the Chinese mainland.

Background: Consenting to do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders is an important and complex medical decision-making process in the treatment of patients at the end-of-life in emergency departments (EDs). The DNR decision in EDs has not been extensively studied, especially in the Chinese mainland.

Methods: This retrospective chart study of all deceased patients in the ED of a university hospital was conducted from January 2017 to December 2019.