Overriding a Patient's Refusal of Treatment after an Iatrogenic Complication

An iatrogenic complication is an unfavorable response to medical treatment that is induced by the therapeutic effort itself.1 Although some are minor, others are life-threatening. Serious or fatal iatrogenic complications occur in 4 to 9 percent of hospitalized patients.2–4 One retrospective series found that 14 percent of cardiac arrests could be traced to an iatrogenic event.5 Physicians often treat conditions caused by iatrogenic complications differently from other medical conditions.6 In this article we shall consider various reasons that might be used to justify making a distinction, in particular the arguments used to justify overriding a do-not-resuscitate (DNR)7 order after . . .