KevinMD February 1, 2025
When I was a general surgery intern, I was doing my very early morning pre-rounds on a frail female patient in her late 70s with significant cardio- and peripheral vascular disease. She’d been in the hospital for weeks and wasted away to no more than 85-90 pounds. She was not able to get out of bed unassisted. I don’t even remember why she was in the hospital, but what I remember vividly is walking in that morning to find her dead. Wait—was she? She was not breathing, and she didn’t have a pulse. What do I do?? I ran to her chart (they were still paper and at the nursing station in those days). Did she have a DNR order?...
Today's Sponsors
Today's Sponsor