Abstract
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is now routinely performed on any hospitalized patients who suffer cardiac or respiratory arrest. Children with irreversible or progressive terminal illness may benefit temporarily from CPR, only to deteriorate later on. Painful and invasive procedures may be performed unnecessarily and the child could be left in a worse condition. A "do not resuscitate" (DNR) order indicates that the treating team has decided not to have CPR attempted in the event of cardiac or pulmonary arrest. In this chapter, various aspects related to the DNR decision making in children will be discussed and summary of the published guidelines by the Royal College of Pediatrics & Child Health and the American Academy of Pediatrics will be presented.