| Abstract: | Cardiopulmonary resuscitation has become a routine procedure in hospitals in spite of the fact that it may be carried out without orders from a physician or consent from the patient It has a high failure rate and some research has indicated that the benefits to patients may be questionable. This article analyses some aspects of the structure of hospitals, other than the role of patient care and cure, which provide sociological explanations for the firm entrenchment and indiscriminate use of the procedure. |
