Charlie Yost: Cardiac Arrest, Dialysis Refusal, Resuscitation, and Death

Charlie's story is a treatment-refusal case as much as a cardiac-arrest case. Once he wakes and states his wishes, the team has to respond to both medical risk and patient autonomy.

Charlie Yost is 82 and has been semi-comatose since a fall and surgery nearly a year earlier, with daily labs and dialysis three times a week. When he wakes up, he refuses dialysis and says he intends to die that day. Izzie wonders whether kidney recovery contributed to his awakening, but Charlie later arrests, is resuscitated, chooses to leave against medical advice, and dies in his room before leaving.

Cardiac arrest in a patient refusing dialysis

Episode-supported steps include reviewing his long post-surgical semi-comatose course, dialysis schedule, daily labs, possible kidney recovery, cardiac arrest response, and his stated desire to leave against medical advice.

Management in the episode includes dialysis as background treatment, refusal of further dialysis, resuscitation after arrest, and planned AMA discharge. Real care would require capacity assessment, informed refusal documentation, code-status review, and goals-of-care discussion.