ABSTRACT
Patients have the right to make decisions regarding their medical care, including the right to refuse treatment or to issue do-not-resuscitate orders as part of an advance directive. Health care providers must comply with the patient's wishes regarding care. Automatic suspension or continuation of a do-not-resuscitate order for a patient undergoing surgery cannot be justified. Surgical team members should consult with the patient and, if necessary, with an ethics expert or committee to determine whether the do-not-resuscitate order is to be maintained or completely or partially suspended during anesthesia and surgery. All surgical departments should have a written policy and procedure concerning the treatment of patients with do-not-resuscitate orders.
Subject(s)
Advance Care Planning , Advance Directive Adherence , Operating Room Nursing , Patient Rights , Resuscitation Orders , Acute Disease , Adult , Advance Care Planning/ethics , Advance Care Planning/organization & administration , Advance Directive Adherence/ethics , Advance Directive Adherence/organization & administration , Appendicitis/complications , Appendicitis/surgery , Consent Forms/ethics , Consent Forms/legislation & jurisprudence , Decision Making/ethics , Dissent and Disputes/legislation & jurisprudence , Ethics Consultation/ethics , Ethics Consultation/organization & administration , Humans , Male , Multiple Myeloma/complications , Nurse's Role , Nursing Assessment/ethics , Nursing Assessment/organization & administration , Nursing Diagnosis/ethics , Nursing Diagnosis/organization & administration , Operating Room Nursing/ethics , Operating Room Nursing/organization & administration , Patient Rights/ethics , Patient Rights/legislation & jurisprudence , Problem Solving/ethics , Resuscitation Orders/ethics , Resuscitation Orders/legislation & jurisprudence , United StatesABSTRACT
Flexible gastrointestinal endoscopy is a valuable diagnostic and therapeutic tool for the care of patients with gastrointestinal and pancreaticobiliary disorders. Compliance with accepted guidelines for the reprocessing of gastrointestinal endoscopes between patients is critical to the safety and success of their use. When these guidelines are followed, pathogen transmission can be effectively prevented. Increased efforts and resources should be directed to improve compliance with these guidelines. Further research in the area of gastrointestinal endoscope reprocessing should be encouraged. The organizations that endorsed this guideline are committed to assisting the FDA and manufacturers in addressing critical infection control issues in gastrointestinal device reprocessing.
