Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders at a Teaching Hospital in Japan

The use of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) must be considered carefully, especially in the case of terminally ill and elderly patients.13 In Japan, most physicians (96 percent) are aware of do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders,4 but unlike the situation in other countries,516 there has been comparatively little discussion here of DNR policy.4,17,18 There also seems to be inadequate use of DNR orders. We found, for example, that futile CPR is often performed at the time of death in patients with terminal lung cancer.4 We suspect that the reasons for the futile efforts at resuscitation include the lack of a . . .