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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I recently spoke with a ER doctor about my 75-year-old mother's wishes about resuscitation. He told me that across the entire population (so, old/young, healthy/unhealthy) the success rate for CPR is only 10-13%. It's also hugely traumatic to the body, particularly for an elderly person.

This shocked me. Like another poster said, I think we have a misperception from tv/movies about how successful and tame some medical procedures are. This doctor suggested it would be more humane NOT to do the full code. Intellectually I agree, although it's a terrible decision to make. [/quote]

So this is the common advice from medical professionals now. I don't doubt that it has risks but it seems that there is more to it than that. Perhaps the hospitals don't want to additional liability and potential for lawsuit if they injure a person during CPR?[/quote]

Hospitals aren't liable for taking life-saving measures, including CPR. CPR is standard operating procedure. Hospital and doctors are going to be liable if they DON'T do CPR, unless there's a DNR (do not resuscitate) order.

But yes, CPR routinely breaks ribs and cracks sternums (because to do CPR right, you have to compress the chest by two inches). A very significant percentage of people who get CPR end up with broken ribs or a cracked sternum. The standard percentage given is 30% of patients but there's research showing that the real number is quite a bit higher:

[quote]However, a 2015 study published in Resuscitation suggested that this percentage is quite a bit higher. The study analyzed autopsy data from 2,148 patients who received CPR for non-trauma-related cardiac arrest, and the statistics were as follows:

Skeletal chest injuries were found in 86% of men and 91% of women.
 59% of the men and 79% of the women had sternum fractures.
 77% of the men and 85% of the women had rib fractures.
 33% of the men and 12% of the women had sternocostal separations.

It’s clear from the above data that women are more likely to receive skeletal chest injuries than men. In addition, the study found that older patients were more at risk of these kinds of injuries than younger. Existing health conditions such as osteoporosis, which weakens the bones, can also result in a higher chance of injuries.[/quote]

Source: https://www.cprcertified.com/blog/what-happens-if-ribs-break-during-cpr

Then there's the internal organ damage, bleeding, and bruising. It's really no joke. Make sure your elderly parents have whatever end-of-life, including DNR orders, and that you or someone else responsible has a healthcare power of attorney.[/quote]

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