Family presence during resuscitation of a child remains controversial and disagreement persists about whether and when potential benefits outweigh risks.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(5):507-512. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.5.sect1-1805.
Family presence in the trauma bay is not entirely analogous to family presence during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and requires a chaperone system.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(5):455-463. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.5.ecas5-1805.
Jalayne J. Arias, JD, MA and Kathryn L. Weise, MD, MA
Even when external factors such as nonaccidental injury weigh heavily on clinicians' perceptions, they should not lose focus on the patient's best interest when deciding whether to continue or withdraw treatment.