European Resuscitation Council Guidelines 2025 Ethics in Resuscitation

Area of Science:

• Medical Ethics
• Emergency Medicine
• Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

Background:

• Ethical dilemmas are inherent in resuscitation decisions.
• Patient values and preferences must guide care.
• Previous guidelines require updates to reflect current practices and research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide evidence-informed recommendations on ethical considerations in resuscitation.
• To address ethical issues across various resuscitation settings, including out-of-hospital, in-hospital, and pediatric cardiac arrest.
• To ensure patient-centered care and align decisions with individual values.

Main Methods:

• Informed by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation's (ILCOR) Consensus on Science and Treatment Recommendations (CoSTR).
• Focused reviews by the ERC Ethics Writing Group for the ERC Guidelines 2025.
• Expert consensus within the writing group.

Main Results:

• Recommendations cover advance care planning, bystander and family involvement, and termination of resuscitation.
• Addresses ethical considerations for systems, education, research, and low-resource settings.
• Emphasizes patient-centered care, beneficence, autonomy, transparency, and AI in research.

Conclusions:

• These guidelines ensure resuscitation decisions respect patient values and preferences.
• Promote a patient-centered approach balancing beneficence and autonomy.
• Provide a framework for ethical education and practice in resuscitation.