Just tattoo DNR on my chest. . . it's been done!

[TiffyRN]

How long have we joked about this? Here is a local article about people using tattoos essentially as medic-alert bracelets.

"One of the most dramatic tattoos, Zavadsky says, was a Do Not Resuscitate on a patient's chest."

[pebbles, BSN, RN]

i have to add my to this post, a month ago we received a pt. at er unconscious, however, on his chest it stated "no blood products" .:redlight:

that's a good one! we had a situation a few weeks back where nobody knew a pt was jehovah's witness and he got a transfusion, i think everybody felt horrible about it.

[guest563546]

I have seen two people with tattoos that say "Diabetic" on their forearms. They were both large enough that you couldn't miss them, and while both were pretty and decorative, they were also legible. I thought it was pretty dang creative, not to mention clever.

[StratMan]

I have been an insulin dependent type1 juvenile diabetic for 36 years. I am an RN and have been a nurse since I was 18. I have an insulin pump and my right forearm has a large Type 1 Diabetic Insulin tattoo with a caduceus.

[Do_Good]

seen it. md who went into surgery (as a patient) and arrested. ripped off covers, saw "do not resuscitate" on her chest, with a signature. team looked at each other, and did as she asked, and she died. surgeon went out to speak to spouse, apologised but said they had no choice but to follow the pt's wishes. spouse said, "oh, thank god, she was so afraid they'd do it anyway."

I think this is great. However, at our local hospital DNR wishes are suspended during surgeries. The only reason I can think of is that the surgeon doesn't want that on his statistics.

Also, usually DNR orders are reviewed prior to surgeries. This must have been an emergency right?

[AnnieOaklyRN, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

I am a medic, sorry, but we cannot honor DNR tattoos YET!

There are a few people I would like to tattoo that onto while they are sleeping!

Annie

[emtpbill, ASN, RN, EMT-P]

I am a medic, sorry, but we cannot honor DNR tattoos YET!

There are a few people I would like to tattoo that onto while they are sleeping!

Annie

Yea right , definitely!

In Pa. there is a whole seperate out-of-hospital DNR form that has to be filled out and signed by the MD.

Alot of nurses in hospitals don't realize this and when a hospice patient is going in between facilities this form must accompany them. Otherwise it's a full code status. Many times I have been waiting for a doctor to come back to the floor just for a signature so we can transport.

[emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

My chest tat reads:

No Code

No Transport

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

I think this is great. However, at our local hospital DNR wishes are suspended during surgeries. The only reason I can think of is that the surgeon doesn't want that on his statistics.

Also, usually DNR orders are reviewed prior to surgeries. This must have been an emergency right?

There is usually a very thorough discussion with patients who have active DNR orders in place prior to surgery. Generally, in order for the surgery to proceed, the DNR must be suspended.

From the American Society of Anesthesiologists - Perioperative Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders

Three moral arguments support suspension of DNR orders during anesthesia and surgery.6,7 First, patients who come to the operating room have consented to the surgical procedure and its attendant anesthesia because they hope the surgery will confer some desirable benefit. The anesthesiologist, however, cannot always separate out a needed resuscitation due to anesthesia from other processes that depress the cardiovascular system, so the consent for anesthesia must also imply consent for resuscitation. Second, cardiopulmonary arrests arising from therapeutic interventions are very different from cardiopulmonary arrests that occur in other settings. In the former instance, the arrest is likely to be reversible while, in the latter, CPR alone rarely reverses the primary problem.8 Third, patients with active DNR orders undergoing anesthesia want the full benefit of anesthesia but anesthesiologists may feel compelled to deliver less-than-optimal anesthesia in order to maintain hemodynamic stability and reduce the possibility the patient may require forbidden” resuscitation. Therefore, even in the absence of a document suspending the DNR order, there may be implied consent to resuscitation by patients who have consented to surgery and anesthesia.

[Libby1987]

I think the tattoo could be a good way to alert EMS that there is a POLST in place. If not visible immediately, at least get them asking/looking for it.

[ixchel]

It's a bit weird to open a post that's been bumped and see "edited by Brian" on it. (And then I realized the post is from 2012.)