Question

You are transporting a seriously injured brain trauma victim whose prognosis is extremely poor. The patient has gone into full arrest. The paramedic in the back of the ambulance with you has made medical direction contact and was given the orders to discontinue resuscitative efforts because the resuscitative protocol has been exhausted. You are documenting the​ events, and you note on the​ patient's driver's license he is an organ donor. You​ should:

A.
treat the patient the same as a​ non-donor.
B.
confirm with the​ patient's family his donor status.
C.
disregard this​ information, as the online physician has already ordered cessation of CPR.
D.
inform the online physician regarding this new knowledge about the​ patient's donor status.

Answer 1

The paramedic should inform the online physician about the patient's organ donor status, as it might influence the management of the patient, particularly concerning organ donation protocols.

Step-by-step explanation:

If a patient in an ambulance is in full arrest and the paramedic has been instructed by medical direction to discontinue resuscitative efforts, but the patient is identified as an organ donor, the correct course of action is to inform the online physician of the patient's organ donor status. Organ donation can be a critical consideration, and the medical team should be aware of this information as it may influence the decisions about continuing life support efforts or how quickly the patient needs to be transported to a facility where organs can be harvested. This information is particularly pertinent when dealing with a brain dead patient where the organs might still be viable for donation.