An 82-Year-Old Man Is Admitted to the Hospital in the Middle

An 82-year-old man is admitted to the hospital in the middle of the night.  He is noncommunicative and has multiple comorbidities, including end-stage lung cancer.  The patient has neither a designated power of attorney nor an advance directive on file.  His wife of many years, who is at the hospital with him, has an extensive conversation with the physician in charge of his care.  During the conversation, she says that, on several occasions, the patient said not to resuscitate him if he were near death because he did not want to live "attached to machines or brain dead."  She says that he just wants to die in peace when the time comes.  What would be the most appropriate course of action if the patient enters ventricular fibrillation?

A) Attend to the patient's comfort and allow his family to be present with him as he is dying
B) Begin full resuscitation because the patient's wife has no official documentation of her husband's wishes
C) Inform the nursing staff that the patient is "do not resuscitate" and suspend all treatment
D) Obtain a court order to confirm the patient's wishes and have legal documentation
E) Perform resuscitation without using a defibrillator but use only cardiac medications

Correct Answer:

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