Knowledge and Attitude of ER and Intensive Care Unit Physicians toward Do-Not-Resuscitate in a Tertiary Care Center in Saudi Arabia: A Survey Study

INTRODUCTION: Only a few studies from Arab Muslim countries address do-not-resuscitate (DNR) practice. The knowledge of physicians about the existing policy and the attitude towards DNR were surveyed. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to identify the knowledge of the participants of the local DNR policy and barriers of addressing DNR including religious background. METHODS: A questionnaire has been distributed to Emergency Room (ER) and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) physicians. RESULTS: A total of 112 physicians mostly Muslims (97.3%). About 108 (96.4%) were aware about the existence of DNR policy in our institute. 107 (95.5%) stated that DNR is not against Islamic. Only (13.4%) of the physicians have advance directives and (90.2%) answered they will request to be DNR if they have terminal illness. Lack of patients and families understanding (51.8%) and inadequate training (35.7%) were the two most important barriers for effective DNR discussion. Patients and families level of education (58.0%) and cultural factors (52.7%) were the main obstacles in initiating a DNR order. CONCLUSIONS: There is a lack of knowledge about DNR policy which makes the optimization of DNR process difficult. Most physicians wish DNR for themselves and their patients at the end of life, but only a few of them have advance directives. The most important barriers for initializing and discussing DNR were lack of patient understanding, level of education, and the culture of patients. Most of the Muslim physicians believe that DNR is not against Islamic rules. We suggest that the DNR concept should be a part of any training program.