OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the accuracy of pediatric patients' death records of a tertiary care center, comparing these records with data from a previous study. METHODS: Death records entered on the medical charts of non-resuscitated patients between 1999 and 2001 were compared with the medical procedure during cardiac arrest, which was described based on the Utstein-style guidelines. Our results were compared (using the chi-square test for equality of distributions) with the results of a previous study, which revealed a significant discrepancy between the medical procedure and the death record entered on the medical chart. RESULTS: The data analysis revealed agreement between the medical procedure and the medical record notes in 86.5% of the cases. The agreement rate in the previous study was only 27.5%. CONCLUSIONS: There was a significant reduction of discrepancy between the medical procedure during a cardiac arrest and the death record entered on the medical chart.
Do-not-resuscitate orders; ethics; cardiopulmonary resuscitation