Using economics to set pragmatic and ethical priorities.

What is the quality of life for survivors of cardiac arrest? A prospective study. Acad Emerg Med 1999;6:95-102. 16 Diggory P, Cauchi L, Griffith D, Jones V, Lawrence E, Mehta A, et al. The influence of new guidelines on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) decisions. Five cycles of audit of a clerk proforma which included a resuscitation decision. Resuscitation 2003;56:159-65. 17 Department for Constitutional Affairs.Mental capacity act. London, 2005. 18 R (Burke) v General Medical Council: Queen’s Bench Division (Administrative court), 2004. 19 O’Brien LA, Grisso JA, Maislin G, LaPann K, Krotki KP, Greco PJ, et al. Nursing home residents’ preferences for life-sustaining treatments. JAMA 1995;274:1775-9. 20 Gjerdingen DK, Neff JA, Wang M, Chaloner K. Older persons’ opinions about life-sustaining procedures in the face of dementia. Arch Fam Med 1999;8:421-5. 21 Laakkonen M-L, Pitkala KH, Strandberg TE, Berglind S, Tilvis RS. Older people’s reasoning for resuscitation preferences and their role in the decision-making process. Resuscitation 2005;65:165. 22 Von Mises L.Human action: a treatise on economics. 4th ed. Irvington: Foundation for Economic Education, 1996. 23 Dingwall R, Shuttleworth A. CPR: Is it cruel or kind? Nursing Times 2002;98:36-8. 24 Swor R, Compton S. Estimating cost-effectiveness of mass cardiopulmonary resuscitation training strategies to improve survival from cardiac arrest in private locations. Prehosp Emerg Care 2004;8:420-3. 25 Nichol G, Valenzuela T, Roe D, Clark L, Huszti E, Wells GA. Cost effectiveness of defibrillation by targeted responders in public settings. Circulation 2003;108:697-703.