DNR, DNI, and DNO?

Cauley, Christy E; El-Jawahri, Areej R; Jacobsen, Juliet C; Udelsman, Brooks V; Jackson, Vicki A; Temel, Jennifer S; Qadan, Motaz · J Palliat Med · 2020

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Abstract

The addition of a do-not-operate (DNO) section to current medical orders for life-sustaining treatment (MOLST) and physician orders for life-sustaining treatment (POLST) medical order forms would more completely document patients' wishes for invasive interventions at the end of life. We propose a modification of the MOLST and POLST forms, in addition to hospital and electronic medical records, to include a DNO section, in addition to preexisting do-not-resuscitate (DNR) and do-not-intubate (DNI) orders, with the goal of reducing suffering from nonbeneficial surgical interventions in patients with severe illness at the end of life.

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