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Quick Tip for Families in Intensive Care: Does a Medically Induced Coma Mean Death?

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

So today’s tip is a question from a reader that we got, and the reader asks, “Does medically induced coma equal death in intensive care?” Well, that’s a great and relevant question, and it’s a short answer. The question is how many patients in ICU actually survive? And the research says that around 90% of intensive care patients actually survive.

Now, one could argue how many patients in intensive care end up in an induced coma. And I don’t have those figures. I would argue probably about 60 to 70% from my experience end up in an induced coma. But it depends on the acuity of the ICU. So, it’s not a one size fits all. I’m just talking from my experience, having worked in many big metropolitan ICUs around the world where the acuity is high and most patients would be ventilated because they’re coming from sort of peripheral hospitals to the big centers.

So, medically induced coma does not equal death. Are the chances higher that someone in a medically induced coma dies compared to someone that’s in ICU that’s not in a medically induced coma? I would say yes, but you should never give up hope. Just because someone is in a medically induced coma doesn’t mean they’re going to die. It means, they are in an induced coma and whatever got them into ICU needs to be treated. And then hopefully things improve from there.

So that is my quick tip for today. I hope that answers your question.

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].

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 in a membership area and via email, and we answer all things intensive care related.

Also, if you want a medical record review, whilst your loved one is in ICU or if you want a medical record review after intensive care, especially if you are suspecting medical negligence, you should contact us as well. We can help you with the medical record review, either in intensive care or after intensive care, for you to get results. It’s best if we start looking at medical records while your loved one is in intensive care, give you that second opinion. And if you’re struggling with getting access to medical records, because the ICU team is telling you, you can’t have access to medical records, that’s just simply a lie. Assuming you are the medical power of attorney, if you are the power of attorney, you have the right to access medical records. Full stop. None of our clients whose power of attorney ever couldn’t get access to medical records. So we can help you with that.

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 from this video.

Thank you so much for watching.

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