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

So currently we are working with a client who has their loved one in multi-organ failure in ICU, after COVID-19 pneumonia that developed into COVID-19 ARDS. And the client is currently facing multi-organ failure. Their lungs are not working. Their heart is supported by vasopressors and inotropes. Their kidneys are failing. They are supported with kidney dialysis for that, and their liver is failing as well. And the ICU team is trying to push for end of life as being “in the best interest for our client’s father”.

So the question really comes down to and our quick tip today is about, should you stop treatment when in multi-organ failure? And the simple question is, no, you shouldn’t because there are people that pull through multi-organ failure. That is what intensive care units are there for to support organs for a period of time and see whether they can improve and respond to treatment. And this is exactly what the situation that our client is in now.  And there are people who pull through.

Bear in mind, intensive care teams are not telling you that the mortality rate in ICU is about 10%. That means the survival rate is around 90%. So the odds are in a patient’s favor, whether they’re in multi-organ failure or not. Therefore, you should try and get your loved one out of multi-organ failure by continuing to treat them in intensive care.

There is this debate at the moment around, should people leave or should they die when they’re on life support? And, that is a debate that needs to happen. And it’s up to families and patients to decide what they want. If they have an advanced care plan, for example, they can decide that they want everything to be done, even if it means they’re on life support temporarily. And if that’s their wishes, then that needs to be respected. There are policies, procedures, and laws around that. It’s not as simple as ICU can just say, we withdraw life support tomorrow at five o’clock or whatever the case may be. That is actually euthanasia or potentially even murder. So you have rights as a family to determine your loved one’s fate.

So that is my quick tip for today.

If you have a loved one in intensive care, go to intensivecarehotline.com, call us on one of the numbers on the top of the website, or send us an email to [email protected]. Also like this video, subscribe to my YouTube channel, click the notification bell, and if you have any questions, comments, or insights from this video, comment below, and I’ll get back to you underneath this video.

This is Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com, and I will talk to you in a few days.