The resuscitation decisions of 100 successively admitted patients on a psychogeriatric ward of a psychiatric hospital were studied. Within six weeks after admission, a do not resuscitate (DNR) order was made in four patients. When compared to the DNR decisions on a geriatric ward for somatic patients in a general hospital, where 58% DNR orders were made, a variation in DNR decisions in The Netherlands seems evident. This variation in DNR orders is comparable to an international variation of 3-85%. A difference in age and co-morbidity of the patients can only partially explain this difference.