Journal of general internal medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Practical methods to increase use of advance medical directives.
To compare the effectiveness of two means for increasing the use of advance medical directives: written materials only versus written materials and an educational videotape. ⋯ In an elderly population with a substantial baseline placement rate, mailing of written materials substantially increased placement of an advance directive in the medical record, but the addition of a videotape did not. Mailing the video did increase the use of treatment trials and made patients more aware of reasons not to use advance directives.
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To determine the rates of immediate survival and survival to discharge for adult patients undergoing in-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and to identify demographic and clinical variables associated with these outcomes. ⋯ When talking with patients, physicians can describe the overall likelihood of surviving discharge as 1 in 8 for patients who undergo cardiopulmonary resuscitation and 1 in 3 for patients who survive cardiopulmonary resuscitation.