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Hi, it’s Patrik Hutzel from Intensivecarehotline.com with another quick tip for families in Intensive Care. Many families in Intensive Care, they come to us and they want to know what to look for if their loved one can come off the ventilator or not.

Now, the long version of this answer is that you need to look for a number of things starting from chest X-ray done, you know, detailed ventilator settings as well as arterial blood gases for example. But the most important thing that you can look for without even looking at all the other details is, can your loved one take their own breaths while they’re on the ventilator?

So that’s the most important thing you need to look for and you need to ask if your loved one is taking their own spontaneous breaths. And if the answer is yes, then there’s a good chance your loved one can come off the ventilator. So that’s my tip for today. Look, if your loved one can take spontaneous breaths on the ventilator and I’ll talk to you in a few days.