Cardiopulmonary resuscitation for palliative care patients: a discussion of ethical issues

Medical advances have significantly improved the prognosis and life-expectancy for many patients with life-threatening illness. However, the ability to extend and prolong life increases the complexity of clinical decision-making and this is particularly true in the context of palliative care. During the course of their illness, many patients with palliative care needs will require hospital admission. It is in this setting that ethical dilemmas are likely to arise regarding the use of life-prolonging measures such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This paper considers some of the ethical issues surrounding the use of CPR for palliative care patients in the hospital setting.