Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

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

So, I had an email from Marvin who has his wife in ICU with COVID 19. She’s on a ventilator, with a breathing tube, and she can’t be weaned off the ventilator. She’s in an induced coma and on sedation. And Marvin says, ‘’She’s on 60% of oxygen. The ICU team is suggesting to do a tracheostomy, so she can be alert and wake up. Is this the right next step?’’

What a great question to ask Marvin, and it comes back to having all the facts and by saying what you’re saying, it’s very relevant. But it’s probably only 10% of the information that I would need in order to guide you with this.

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. This is exactly the situation that you are in Marvin because there are so many unknowns in this situation.

A tracheostomy might well be the next best step for your wife, but it might not, depends on has she been proned? For example. Is she on inotropes? What sedation is she on? Have they tried to wake her up and extubate her? Get the oxygen levels down? Is she getting regular chest physiotherapy? What other ventilator settings is she on? Is she in SIMV (synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation) mode? Is she in an AC (assist-control) mode? Have they tried CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) or pressure support? What do chest X-rays look like? What are arterial blood gases like? And the list is endless. I made a separate video about this, what questions to ask in intensive care that you can check out below this video.

So, Marvin, it’s a great question to ask. And the tracheostomy might well be the next step for your wife, but it may not. And it really depends on what else is happening. I didn’t mention, for example, what are the blood results? What medications is she on overall? And so forth.

So, that is my quick tip for today.

Because if you have a loved one in intensive care, the best next step really is, for you to give us a call at intensivecarehotline.com, and call us on one of the numbers on the top of our website, or send us an email to [email protected].

Also, have a look at our membership for families in intensive care at intensivecaresupport.org.

We also provide medical record reviews, and we talk to doctors and nurses directly in ICU with you. And that will give you all the answers that you need by looking at medical records, and/or talking to the doctors and nurses directly, where we participate in family meetings as professional consultant advocates for families in intensive care.

Also like this video, comment below what you want to see next, share the video with your friends and families, subscribe to my YouTube channel  for regular updates for families in intensive care, and click the notification bell.

Thanks for watching.

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