RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Parental presence during cardiopulmonary resuscitation of children: the experience, opinions and moral positions of emergency teams in France
JF Archives of Disease in Childhood
JO Arch Dis Child
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
SP 310
OP 315
DO 10.1136/archdischild-2013-304488
VO 99
IS 4
A1 Cédric Tripon
A1 Gautier Defossez
A1 Stéphanie Ragot
A1 Aïham Ghazali
A1 Amélie Boureau-Voultoury
A1 Michel Scépi
A1 Denis Oriot
YR 2014
UL http://adc.bmj.com/content/99/4/310.abstract
AB Objective To evaluate the experience, opinions and moral positions of French emergency physicians (EP) who had taken a paediatric university course on parental presence during child cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and to compare it with the responses of nurses on their teams. Methods A questionnaire was sent to 550 EPs who had taken the course during the previous 6 years; the EPs were also asked to give a copy of the questionnaire to nurses on their staff. Data were collected on experience of parental presence during child CPR, opinions on the practice, arguments for and against parental presence, and the moral positions of respondents regarding their perception of life and the sharing of medical/parental power in the decision-making process. Results 343 responses were analysed, 47% from EPs (29% response rate) and 53% from nurses. 52% of respondents had experienced parental presence during child CPR, but it had been the physician's wish on only 6% of these occasions. Only 17% of respondents favoured parental presence, with EPs (27%) being favourable more often than nurses (12%). The reasons against parental presence were psychological trauma for the parents, risk of interference with medical management, and care team stress. Respondents not in favour of parental presence expressed this view more for medical reasons than for parent-related reasons. The physicians not in favour of parental presence espoused a moral position predicated on medical power. Conclusions A majority of EPs and nurses were reluctant to have parents present during child CPR. Their attitude involved medical paternalism.