General hospital psychiatry
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Gen Hosp Psychiatry · Mar 1989
Interview assessment of critically Ill patients regarding resuscitation decisions. A case study in ethics research.
To examine how patients perceive and decide their resuscitation status, we monitored 113 admissions to a coronary care unit. We review the research process, including Institutional Review Board concerns, sampling bias and permission by physicians, informed consent, and the patient interview. ⋯ Although standardized psychologic measures indicated distress in some of these critically ill patients, the interview itself induced no detected untoward physiologic or emotional reactions. This pilot study demonstrates the feasibility of assessing patients regarding resuscitation status and also identifies relevant methodologic problems to guide future research of resuscitation decision-making.