Hospital panic over unconscious man's 'do not resuscitate' tattoo

[Judi Lynn]

Source: NZ Herald


2 Dec, 2017 8:32am

A man's 'do not resuscitate' tattoo forced Miami emergency doctors to confront the ethical conflict between a patient's wishes and a doctor's duty.

The 70-year-old man was unconscious and presumably drunk, given his elevated blood-alcohol level, when paramedics brought him to the emergency room, the Daily Mail reports.

His pulse slowed to a worrying rate, and the doctors decided to try to save him any way, but were getting no responses, according to a case study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

After consulting with ethicists, the doctors decided to respect the man's tattoo, but the quandary made them aware of the need for an updated system of tracking patients' end of life wishes.

Read more: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11951788

[Corvo Bianco]

1. I would hate to be in that predicament. Is this tattoo sarcastic or is it an order?

Meanwhile the guy is dying

[MosheFeingold]

7. When the decision cannot be reversed

If made one way. And the course uncertain.

Then chose the other way.

This is Judaism 101.

[paleotn]

19. Very wise.

[marble falls]

2. Coincidentally he had that one put over an earlier removed "Born to be Wild" tattoo.

[left-of-center2012]

10. "Born to be Wild" tattoo

Once had an elderly patient (80's?) with that tattooed on her upper thigh.

[marble falls]

11. I certainly hope she had some fine memories to contemplate!

[Iggo]

3. Yikes!

Interesting read.

[Aristus]

4. 10 out of 10 for attention to detail, dude.

But next time, put it in a legal document, not a tattoo...

[sl8]

13. Well, in this case, he had documentation, but it took 2 hours to locate it.

Last edited Fri Dec 1, 2017, 11:57 PM - Edit history (1)

But that brings up a good question - what does the provider do if they don't have immediate access to the patients medical record or other documentation? Would they abide by a patient's bracelet or wallet card?

[paleotn]

20. Bracelet or card..... possibly

Tattoo? Under no circumstances. After all, the verdict for letting someone die in error is far worse than keeping someone alive in error.

[hibbing]

5. Interesting story, thanks for posting n/t

[Liberalagogo]

6. Tattoos are NOT legally binding

http://blog.lawdepot.com/are-dnr-tattoos-legally-binding/

Easy peasy.

[The_jackalope]

8. The problem is, if you don't have the document with you

or the docs don't find it, they are not bound by it. I've heard of doctors wearing "NO CODE" medallions, and also of tattoos like this one. IMO they should always be respected. The ethicists are right, but the law says otherwise.

I'm speaking as a man whose wife signed a DNR in the months before she was granted a medically assisted death in September. We had the legal niceties of a DNR explained to us very carefully. We were advised to pin it to the wall beside the door so I could grab it if she was ever taken to the hospital. We were also advised to put a big bold sign above it, saying "Do Not Resucitate" with an arrow pointing to the document itself - in case EMTs arrived and I wasn't there.

[sl8]

14. Thanks for your post. n/t

[dembotoz]

17. Yes thank you

[DBoon]

9. So should I get a tattoo that says

"If found unconscious, administer bourbon"?

[flotsam]

12. Fellow EMT had one

...He also had cancer. I can't picture a no code tattoo being a mistake.

[The_jackalope]

15. Nor can I. Especially if it's in medicalese like "No Code". nt

[Cold War Spook]

16. My wife and I won't die in a hospital.

When the first one dies, there will be a very quiet ceremony in the back yard. Keep those social security checks coming. No joke.

[pintobean]

21. You plan on stealing from the rest of us,

our kids, and grand-kids?

Nice.

[Sancho]

18. We put chips in dogs and cats...

just saying.

[tenderfoot]

22. I know someone that has that tattooed on their chest

It's there for a reason.