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

So, today’s tip is a question answered from one of our members. We actually have a membership for families of critically ill patients in intensive care. When you go to intensivecarehotline.com, click on the membership link or when you go to intensivecaresupport.org directly.

Let’s dive right into it.

“Hi Patrik and Team,

I was wondering if you have any information about using the Passy-Muir valve with patients who have had tracheostomy? It sounds like it would be beneficial with my dad’s speech therapy and being able to talk. I do feel like my dad has been trying to speak to us too and can’t in his current situation because of the ventilator and the tracheostomy. I will also find out as soon as I speak to my mom tonight if he has had any speech therapy at this point.

Thank you so much.”

So, this is from one of our members who has their father in intensive care with ventilation and tracheostomy.

“We’re very happy, of course, to provide you with the information about using the Passy-Muir valve for patients like your dad with the tracheostomy and the ventilator.

The Passy-Muir valve is a device that can help facilitate speech for individuals who have undergone a tracheostomy.

When a person has a tracheostomy, a tube is inserted into the trachea to help with breathing. This tube bypasses the vocal cords which makes it difficult for the person to speak or produce sounds. The Passy-Muir valve is designed to redirect airflow through the vocal cords allowing the individual to speak more naturally.

The valve is attached to the opening of the tracheostomy tube and works by closing during inhalation which redirects the airflow through the vocal cords and then opens during exhalation to allow the air to pass through the tracheostomy tube. This mechanism enables speech production and enhances the ability to communicate.

In addition to speech therapy, the Passy-Muir valve can be a valuable tool for your dad with a tracheostomy to regain his ability to speak. It is essential that your dad will be seen by the speech-language pathologist who will assess your dad’s speech and swallowing abilities as well as determine the potential benefits and risks associated with using the Passy-Muir valve.

Additionally, further assessment from the pulmonologist and ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) specialists are advised, who can provide valuable insights and guidance regarding the appropriateness of use of such a device.

You can also look at the article attached and the links below which are helpful information about the use of speaking valves as well.”

Now, I should also say that when someone can use the speaking valve, they need to be off the ventilator too. So, they need to have time off the ventilator before they can use the speaking valve.

Now, from my experience, someone has to be off the ventilator for at least a few days, having regained some of their strength because it can be quite exhausting for patients when they first use the Passy-Muir speaking valve. It’s not as simple as you’re putting on the Passy-Muir speaking valve and they can start talking again because vocal cords have been paralyzed for a while. It’s almost like needing to talk again. It can be quite a process and not a quick fix.

Now, what also needs to happen when the speaking valve is being used, the cuff needs to be deflated at the tracheostomy side. There’s often a cuff balloon that keeps the tracheostomy in place, stops people from aspirating, and that needs to be deflated as well so that the vocal cords can actually be used.

Now, from experience as well, when using a Passy-Muir speaking valve, it can often be very irritating for a patient as well. They’re starting to cough and producing a lot of secretions. So that’s what I’m saying. It’s often a process, not an event to get someone familiar with the Passy-Muir speaking valve.

Now, there are exceptions to the rule as well. Some patients you deflate the balloon and deflate the cuff and they can actually talk without the Passy-Muir speaking valve, but they’re the ones that are very close to decannulation and having the tracheostomy removed as well or comes down to once again, that the biggest challenge for families in intensive care is simply that they don’t know what they don’t know. They don’t know what to look for. They don’t know what questions to ask. They don’t know their rights and they don’t know how to manage doctors and nurses in intensive care. That’s what this all comes down to at the end of the day. That’s what we’re here to do in helping you.

Now, if you have a loved one in intensive care and you want your questions answered as part of our membership for families of critical patients in intensive care, go to intensivecarehotline.com, click on the membership link and you can get access there or you go to intensivecaresupport.org directly in the membership. You have access to me and my team, 24 hours a day, in the membership area and via email and we answer all questions in intensive care related.

Now, I also offer one-on-one consulting and advocacy over the phone, via Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp, or whichever medium works best for you. I talk to doctors and nurses directly. I represent you in family meetings, I talk to you and your families, and I answer your questions.

I make sure, most of all, that you make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, and influence, which is so hard to find when you have a loved one in intensive care. It feels like banging your head against the wall. I know what it feels like. I have worked in intensive care for over 20 years in three different countries where I worked as a nurse unit manager for over five years. I have been consulting and advocating as part of my intensivecarehotline.com, hundreds of families in intensive care all over the world.

So, go to my consulting options that you can where you can have direct access to me over the phone, Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp, et cetera. I also represent you in family meetings with intensive care teams, making sure you have strong advocacy in meetings with intensive care teams so they can’t walk all over you.

Also, if you need a medical record review in real time to get a second opinion in real time, please contact us as well at intensivecarehotline.com on one of the numbers on the top of our website or via email [email protected]. We also offer medical record reviews after intensive care if you have unanswered questions, if you need closure, or if you are suspecting medical negligence.

If you like my videos, subscribe to my YouTube channel for regular updates for families in intensive care, click the like button. Click the notification bell, share the video with your friends and families, comment below questions and insights you have from this video.

Thanks for watching.

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

Take care for now.