Reference no: EM133261504

Case Study:

Ethical issues regarding end of life care decision usually occurs in the absence of advanced directives and/or living will. It is also not a common practice in the Philippines, as in the following case: OV, 65 years old, was rushed to the Hospital because of chest pain at 9: 00 PM. He was suspected to have myocardial infarction and was given morphine for the pain. From the Emergency room (ER) he was finally moved to a regular room at eleven o'clock in the evening. Two years prior to his admission in the Hospital, he was operated for prostatectomy because of Prostate Cancer. His bone scan showed that cancer has metastasized to his bone. Because his Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) was abnormally high, his medication for some time included testosterone. His wife talked to the children that if anything happens for the worst, she would opt for a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR). Six weeks after the operation, linear accelerator was prescribed for six week. As a side effect, he had low hemoglobin that often necessitates blood transfusion.

He was in and out of the hospital several times for this reason and was just discharged from the Hospital a day before when he complained of chest pain thus bringing him to the Hospital. The evening after his admission was uneventful when at 6:00 AM, he appeared to be pale and looked alarming. The wife called all the children to come to the hospital at once. Code blue was called, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was initiated and intubation was done to no avail.

Questions:

1. What ethical issues have you identified in the above case?

2. What values and beliefs about the case have you identified?

3. What could have been different if the requirement of DNR was consummated?

4. What are the current hospital practices for DNR