Examined physicians' attitudes towards do-not-resuscitate orders (DNR) in the elderly and analyzed their responses to some of the factors that may influence resuscitation decisions. A questionnaire was administered to 249 physicians in the Departments of Medicine and Critical Care in 3 cities in Saudi ArabiSs were asked whether they would recommend DNR for 2 hypothetical cases, 1 elderly and previously functional patient and another younger patient suffering from severe dementiThey were asked also to grade the importance of a number of factors (patient's dignity, religious concerns, legal concerns, risk of vegetative state, limited intensive care unit space, reduction of medical care quality after DNR, costs of medical care without DNR) that may have some influence on their resuscitation decisions. Only 16% of Ss indicated they would recommend DNR for the previously healthy elderly as opposed to 61% for the patient with dementiWhen considering DNR orders, Ss ranked dignity of the patient, religious and legal concerns highly, and cared least about expenses of the medical care. In conclusion, most Ss assigned more importance to the functional status of the patient than the biological age.