No DNR Tattoo for Me, Thanks
December 1, 2018
Caring for the Ages
Many of Caring’s readers will recall the November, 2017 letter to the New England Journal of Medicine (2017;377:2192–2193) that recounted the case of an unidentified 70-year-old man who presented, unconscious and very ill, to an emergency department and was found to have a large “DO NOT RESUSCITATE” tattoo on his chest. Beneath that tattoo was a second tattoo, a representation of his signature. The patient received moderately aggressive life-sustaining treatment in an intensive care unit to address acidosis and hypotension, and the treating ICU team elected not to honor the tattoo initially.