Supervisors info:
Ν. Ιακωβίδου Αν. Καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική, ΕΚΠΑ
Ι. Σιαφάκα Καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική,ΕΚΠΑ
Θ. Ξάνθος, Καθηγητής, Ιατρικής Ευρωπαϊκό Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου
Summary:
INTRODUCTION: Cardiac arrest is the penultimate emergency. The purpose of this study was to present, both from the Orthodox and non-Orthodox perspectives, the bioethical background of the complex decision to initiate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
METHODS: The literature search was performed using several databases, including PubMed and Google Scholar, from 2000 until now. All the available studies addressing important aspects on the topic were included. The inclusion criteria were cardiac arrest, bioethics, legislation, dilemmas on death, and death prolongation. All English, Italian, and Greek articles were included, while cross-referencing was performed using the bibliographies from the articles obtained.
RESULTS: The literature search was completed by selecting the studies based on inclusion criteria as judged by title, abstract and complete manuscript. Information was extracted from each included article on the study's inclusion criteria. Assessment of the articles for the stated criteria based on title, abstract or full text resulted in 105 articles being selected for final review.
CONCLUSIONS: It is Orthodoxly accepted, on a case-by-case basis and according to the will of the patient, either to allow natural death or to initiate CPR if desired. In case we do not know the patients’ will, CPR should be immediately started.
