“To Be or Not to Be”—Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation for Hospitalized People Who Have a Low Probability of Benefit: Qualitative Analysis of Semi-structured Interviews

PURPOSE: Our aim was to understand the decision making of patients in hospital who wanted cardiopulmonary resuscitation despite low probability of benefit. METHODS: We included patients admitted to general medical wards who had a low chance of surviving in-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and had an order in the chart to administer CPR. We developed an interview guide to explore participants’ decision-making process, sources of information, and emotions associated with this decision. RESULTS: We developed 3 themes from the data. 1) “Life is worth living . . . for now”: Participants describe their enjoyment of life and desire to carry on in their current state. 2) “Making sense of CPR outcomes”: Participants saw CPR outcomes as binary, either they live, or they die; deciding not to receive CPR means choosing death. Participants were optimistic they would survive CPR and cited personal experience and TV as information sources. 3) “Decision process”: Participants did not engage in shared decision making. Instead, they were asked a binary yes/no question with no reflection on their values or discussion about harms or benefits. LIMITATIONS: The probability of successful CPR in our sample is unknown. Findings may be different in a population who is imminently dying but still requesting CPR. CONCLUSIONS: Participants chose CPR because they perceived life as worth living and CPR as a chance worth taking. Participants did not want to be left in a severely debilitated state but did not have accurate information about this risk. IMPLICATIONS: Decision making about CPR in-hospital can be improved if it is grounded in accurate risk understanding and the patient’s values and wishes.