Saudi family perceptions of family-witnessed resuscitation in the adult critical care setting

Background: During cardiopulmonary resuscitation, family members are usually pushed out of the resuscitation room. However, growing literature implies that family presence during resuscitation could be beneficial. Some health organizations worldwide such as American Heart Association and the Resuscitation Council in the UK supports family-witnessed resuscitation (FWR) and urge hospitals to develop policies to ease this process. The opinions on FWR vary widely among various cultures, and some hospitals are not applying such polices yet. This is the first study which explores the Saudi family members' opinion for family witness resuscitation in adult critical care setting. Objectives: To investigate whether patient's next of kin would like to have been present in the resuscitation room during attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) of their relative and their experience or knowledge of what is involved in CPR. Subjects and Methods: A retrospective, descriptive telephone survey of families of patients who had admitted in critical cares areas from January 2016 to June 2016. A family presence survey was developed to determine the desires, beliefs, and concerns about FWR. Results: Out of the 235 respondents, 143 (60.9%) wanted to be present in the room of their loved one just before death while CPR was going on. One hundred and eighty-two (77.4%) of the respondents believed that the family members should be with their loved one before death. More than half, i.e., 141 (60.0%) of the respondents believed that their presence might have eased the suffering of the deceased. One hundred and fifty-seven (66.8%) of the family members thought that their presence with the deceased in their last moments could have helped their sorrows and sadness. Conclusion: Most relatives of patients requiring CPR would like to be offered the possibility of being in the resuscitation room; this could have several benefits, so this study suggests that institutions should consider establishing programs of witnessed cardiopulmonary resuscitation for family members.