Slow Codes and Medically Futile Codes - Prevalent in Practice

Slow codes occur when clinicians symbolically appear to conduct advanced cardiac life support but do not provide full resuscitation efforts, A new study at two Chicago institutions shows that slow codes regularly occur in practice, even though many clinicians ethically disagree. 

Over two-thirds of 240 respondents reported caring for a patient where a slow code was performed. That is a mean of 1.3 slow codes per year, per participant. Most respondents reported slow codes are ethical if the code is medically futile. Most respondents reported moral distress when required to run, do chest compressions for, or witness a cardiac resuscitation attempt they believe medically futile.