Perioperative Do-Not-Resuscitate Suspension: The Patient's Perspective

Hospitalized patients with do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders commonly require surgical procedures. When this occurs, the usual practice in our medical center is to suspend the DNR order during the perioperative period. Few studies provide the patient perspective regarding automatic DNR suspension. The research team used a mixed-method, nonexperimental qualitative study design to conduct audio-recorded interviews with 17 nonsurgical patients who had DNR orders. We studied the patients' understanding of DNR status and their expectations regarding the changing of this status if surgery were required. The patients in the study expected a discussion regarding any change in their DNR status before the day of surgery and thought they should have the option to maintain their DNR status.