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Hi, it’s Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com with another quick tip for families in intensive care.
So I had a question from one of our readers and the question was, can someone with a DNR have a breathing tube? What a great question, and it’s highly relevant for families in intensive care.
So let’s just quickly clarify some terminology what DNR stands for DNR stands for Do Not Resuscitate or the synonym for that is NFR, Not For Resuscitation.
So what does that mean in general? So the short version to your answer is, yes, somebody with a DNR can have a breathing tube. Now DNR, again stands for Do Not Resuscitate and if somebody is not for resuscitation, it usually refers to CPR or cardiopulmonary resuscitation. And it basically means that if somebody’s heart stops, that nobody would commence the cardiac compressions or the chest compressions to revive the heart, but it wouldn’t necessarily exclude the breathing tube, you can actually document that in an advanced care plan.
So it all comes down to somebody’s advanced care plan and we highly recommend that anybody has an advanced care plan that if they ever, God forbid, go to intensive care or ICU, that the treating team knows what they want.
So a DNR or an NFR can really be broken down into several components, starting, from not having cardiac compressions, or from not having inotropes or vasopressors, which is also considered as life support, or it could also exclude a breathing tube. But you know, you’re asking if it can include a breathing tube and it definitely can, you know, really comes down to personal preference.
Now, here’s a word of warning though, and you might have heard me saying that before, it should be entirely your choice or your loved one’s choice and not the intensive care team’s choice. Whether you or your loved one wants to have a DNR, what should be included or excluded in the DNR. It should be only your choice and not the intensive care team’s choice.
That’s my tip for today. This is Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com and I’ll talk to you in a few days.
Like the video, comment down below what you want to see next, and I’ll talk to you in a few days.
Also check out our website at intensivecarehotline.com where we help families of critically ill patients in intensive care.
Take care