Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

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

So my tip today is about brain bleeds or subarachnoid hemorrhages and intensive care unit stays or ICU stays.

Many patients in intensive care that end up with a brain bleed or a subarachnoid hemorrhage end up on a ventilator in an induced coma. They often end up with an ICP also known as intracranial pressure monitoring to measure the pressure in the brain because if the pressure in the brain gets too high, it could be lethal, it could be deadly, brain cells could die because of lack of oxygen and also increased pressure would also show up again if another bleed was to occur.

With that, goes hand in hand, often with mechanical ventilation, a breathing tube or endotracheal tube and the question then often is how long do people need to stay on a ventilator when they have a brain bleed or a subdural hemorrhage?

So it really depends on how quickly they can wake up. It depends on, are the brain pressures stable? Can the ICP monitor be taken out? Can the patient then be woken up and be extubated or taken off the ventilator? But it’s often not as simple as that, because depending on the damage that is being done with the brain bleed, patients may not wake up quickly.

They may not wake up at all and then the question inevitably arises if a patient needs a tracheostomy or not. Even if they can breathe by themselves, they may not be able to swallow, they may not be able to cough as part of the brain bleed. And if that’s the case, they may be able to come off the ventilator, but they may still need a tracheostomy for airway protection.

So that is my quick tip for today. If you have a loved one in intensive care and you need help, please check out intensivecarhotline.com and call us on one of the numbers on the top of the website or on the numbers below this video.

Like this video, comment down below what questions that you have and subscribe to my YouTube channel, where you get regular updates for families in intensive care.

It’s Patrik Hutzel from intensivcarehotline.com and I’ll talk to you in a few days.