Relatives' Presence During Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

Avoiding relatives' presence while performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation is the most frequent choice made by the surveyed physicians who treat critical Argentine patients. The main causes for discouraging family presence during cardiopulmonary resuscitation or other critical procedures include the following: risk of misinterpretation of the physician's actions and/or words; risk of a relative's decompensation; uncertainty about possible reactions; and interpretation of the relative's presence as negative.