Gastroenterologists reverse “do not resuscitate” orders to full code status more than 75% of the time prior to starting endoscopy, the results of a recent study show. In addition, most respondents said they do not usually discuss code status with their patients before beginning inpatient endoscopy. The findings were published in January in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
“You always want to make sure that you’re following the patient’s wishes, and you can only do so if you have the conversation,” said lead author Lauren D. Feld, MD, a gastroenterology fellow at the University of Washington, in Seattle.
“It’s so ingrained to many people that a DNR is automatically reversed, and if a patient has a sustained DNR that we cannot perform the procedure,” said Vijaya L. Rao, MD, of the University of Chicago, where Feld trained and conducted the survey.