Korean Journal of Medical Ethics
The Korean Society for Medical Ethics
Article

회복 불가능한 환자의 심폐소새술포기(DNR)와 관련된 윤리문제

한성숙1
Sung-Suk HAN1
1가톨릭대학교 간호대학
1College of Nursing, Catholic Universty

ⓒ Copyright 2005 The Korean Society for Medical Ethics. This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Published Online: Jun 30, 2005

ABSTRACT

The following research has examined ethical dilemmas regarding denial of resuscitation by patients. The articlealso suggests several proposals for optimized solutions. First of all, the history and nature of CPR & DNR have been discussed. Second, mutual interactions during making decisions on DNR have been introduced. Because physicians do not exclusively conduct the decision on DNR, patients, family members, and other related siblings should be involved in the process. If necessary, the ethics committee may be applied for making appropriate decisions. Thirdly, in order to locate the nature of ethical dilemma on DNR decisions, the relationship between patients and physicians, full understanding the importance of CPR necessity, and defining the method of DNR would need to be well explained. Finally, through the ethical discussion on DNR, following conclusions have been suggested. In all situations, DNR must let physicians make decision on futility of CPR for patients' current or future conditions, and the decision must be made only after patients are fully aware of the consequences. Under the law of respecting patients' opinions, patients must have the ability to make decisions on DNR. The proper moments for deciding DNR should depend on behaviors regarding his/her conditions or diseases. Because a health care institution play an important role in making decisions as well, all opinions must be reviewed for the best outcome. It is important to remember that the main decision makers on DNR are patients. Following discussions have concluded that an agreement among people nationwide is quite essential for the appropriate DNR decisions. The research may serve as a supplement for the process of establishing the DNR guideline.

Keywords: 심폐소생술(CPR); 심폐소생술포기(DNR); 윤리문제; 회복불가능한 환자
Keywords: CPR; DNR; Ethical Issues; Patients with incurable diseases