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Hi, it’s Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com with another quick tip for families in intensive care.

So, today’s tip is about a reader who writes in, and he says, “My dad’s been in ICU for a few weeks now. He’s ventilator dependent and he’s having a tracheostomy. The ICU team has been trying the CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) or pressure support mode for a few times, but every time they switch him into CPAP or pressure support mode, his respiratory rate goes up and they need to put him back to SIMV (synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation) or a controlled ventilation mode. I need help to move my dad away from the ventilator. How can he be weaned off pretty quickly?”

So, the biggest challenge for families in intensive care is simply that they don’t know what they don’t know. They don’t know what to look for. They don’t know what questions to ask, they don’t know their rights, and they don’t know how to manage doctors and nurses in intensive care. And that’s exactly what you are dealing with here.

Now, if someone can’t come off the ventilator or if they can’t even pass the spontaneous breathing trials, like in the case in your dad’s situation, they need to start physical therapy. They need to start mobilization.

So from my experience, I have not seen any patients really come off the ventilator in ICU unless they’re getting mobilized consistently. They are getting physical therapy, including breathing exercises, coughing exercises, that is a must to wean someone off a ventilator. And now other things that patients need in ICU, they need a lot of TLC (tender loving care) really, and they need good nursing care. They need good, regular washes, back washes, regular position changes when they are back in bed. They need good mouth care, eye care. It’s all part of improving the wellbeing of someone that’s really very vulnerable. And the little things can make all the difference.

But a lot of ICU, what we are seeing at the moment, they are simply complacent. They’re not mobilizing patients. They are not providing physical therapy for patients. And that’s really an obstacle to weaning patients of a ventilator. And that is what needs to happen in your dad’s situation to wean him off the ventilator. Imagine you’re lying in bed for weeks on ends, a ventilator is doing all the work for you. Well, your breathing muscles decondition pretty quickly, and the only way to improve that is by mobilizing and by sitting upright that strengthens the upper body muscles. And that also improves the ability to breathe independently. And simple things like arm, leg exercises, and again, then sitting upright in a chair makes all the difference. And if they can achieve that, then your dad should be able to be weaned off the ventilator.

And now the only disclaimer that I’m making here, you have not in your email said that your dad has a neuromuscular disease like, MND (motor neuron disease) or muscular dystrophy or God forbid, he has a spinal injury. That would definitely be prohibitive to wean him off the ventilator. But I’m assuming that’s not the case. I’m assuming your dad might be in ICU, with maybe pneumonia, with COVID ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome) or maybe after an accident. If that is the case in your dad and there’s no spinal injury on neuromuscular disease, your dad should have every opportunity to get off the ventilator by doing all the things that I just mentioned. And if God forbid he can’t come off the ventilator at all, then you should check out intensivecareathome.com for more information for home care, for someone being stuck in intensive care long-term with the inability of coming off the ventilator.

Check out intensivecareathome.com. We are currently operating all around Australia and all major capital cities and all regional and remote areas, as well as in the United States. Please contact us if you’re in the United States as well.

That is my quick tip for today.

Now, if you have a loved one in intensive care, go to intensivecarehotline.com. Call us on one of the numbers on the top of our website, or simply send us an email to [email protected].

If you are looking for Intensive Care at Home, go to intensivecareathome.com and call us on one of the numbers on the top of our website, or send us an email to [email protected].

Also, have a look at our membership for families in intensive care at intensivecaresupport.org. There you have access to me and my team 24 hours a day, and we answer all questions, intensive care and Intensive Care at Home related.

If you need a medical record review, please contact us as well. We provide medical record reviews for families or for patients in intensive care in real time, as well as after intensive care if you’re suspecting medical negligence. If you need closure or if you have unanswered questions.

We also provide NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) nursing assessments for our home care clients in Australia.

Now, subscribe to my YouTube channel for regular updates for families in intensive care. Share the video with your friends and families. Click the like button, click the notification bell and comment below what you want to see next, or what questions and insights you have.

Thanks for watching.

This is Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com and intensivecareathome.com, and I’ll talk to you in a few days. Take care.