Intensive Care Hotline

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April 24, 2019 / Patrik Hutzel - Critical Care Nurse Consultant / No Comments

Quick tip for families in Intensive Care: When can ECMO be used?

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Hi, it’s Patrik Hutzel here from Intensivecarehotline.com with another quick tip for families in Intensive Care.

Many families in Intensive Care come to us and they want to know when ECMO can be used as a treatment or therapy option. Now the short version of it is that, it can be used for either heart failure or lung failure.

Now, let’s break this down further. In heart failure, it can be used after cardiac arrest, after cardiogenic shock, after heart attack, but it can also be used when during or after cardiac surgery, the patients can’t be weaned off the bypass machine then ECMO can take over that function.

Furthermore, ECMO can be used as a bridge to a VAD (Ventricular Assist Device). It can be used as a bridge to a heart transplant. It can also be used after a heart transplant to stabilize patients in lung failure or respiratory failure.

ECMO is often used for ARDS and it’s also used as a bridge to a lung transplant and it can also be used after lung transplant again to stabilize patients.

So, that’s my quick tip for today when can ECMO be used and I’ll talk to you in a few days. Take Care!

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"Hi Patrik,A few months back I contacted you about my mom, vent, dialysis, G tube, J-tube. She passed away last month, due a number of errors at the care center.I want to just say thank you for the work you do. It was ironic: at one hospital center, they said she was ventilator dependent, and she was treated that way for 5 months. She went to the teaching hospital in the state, where they put her on a CPAP setting for 2 days, then put her on the aireO2, and they had her down to 15L at 30% FiO2. They told us a vent took 24-hour care. I talked to our pulmonary doctor and said I used to be an EMT, and he said, "Of course you can do a vent at home."The biggest problem was dialysis, but we might have found a way around it; we just ran out of time. Rather horrible care caused her death: from sepsis, the lung infection, and bed sores, to not hooking her up to O2 and the O2 monitor for almost an hour, to sticking a displaced G-tube that was dirty back in instead of using a new one, a J-tube that was not flushed and was chocolate brown (so either not flushed or blood), suction canisters that had black stuff in them, and nurses accessing her dialysis ports for IVs! (A big no-no, according to nephrology.)So my friend, bless you for the work you do, and continue on. In many cases, people can come home. Yes, it will be a lot of work, and many family members might shy away and just don't want to do it, but for the ones willing to do it, and willing to work and learn, it can be done to help take care of their loved ones. Today I see so many people thrown into nursing homes, and nobody ever sees them or visits. One of the first questions on the intake form is "Which funeral home?" What has become of us as a society?Godspeed, and blessings to you and your group."Sam

“I found Patrik online, sitting in my daughter's ICU hospital room 6 years ago when my then 36-year-old daughter was in a car wreck. She was in a coma for 94 days. While in the coma, the doctors and nurses did not think she would wake up, and they just wanted to move her to a nursing home until she died. She was in the ICU for 14 days, then in an LTAC for 80 days, which is when she woke up. For the entire 80 days in the LTAC, the medical personnel were trying to move her to a nursing home. Insurance was also an issue. But in both cases, you don't have to take no for an answer.I never had a one-on-one with Patrik; I just had the information he gives for free on the internet, but even just that was absolutely life-changing. As he says, "You don't know what you don't know," I learned from him not to be intimidated by the doctors or nurses. They are just people, the same as us. He gave me the courage to stand up to them and to advocate for my daughter and her care.Now, she is doing well, she was in inpatient rehab for 2 years in 3 different facilities. That's another thing - when one facility says you can't stay anymore, look for another one. Her insurance covered all her neuro rehab. She's been home for 4 years now and lives with me. She is mostly independent, but still has spasticity issues, which make walking difficult. She is in physical therapy 2 times a week. She does have an axonal diffuse brain injury from the wreck, which contributes to her physical problems, but she is pretty much the same person she was before.I just wanted to say THANK YOU to Patrik, and to let you know that if your loved one is in the ICU, Patrik's information is beyond LIFE-CHANGING!”

Hi Patrik,Thank you for your support for the past few months. My sister is slowly making progress, it will be a long, tortuous journey for my sister and my family.The doctors & family are doing what we can, getting the care she needs when she needs it, she is now in rehabilitation.Thank you for all your support & your team's time during the critical time in ICU. It was eye opening.

Halima

“I want to thank Patrik Hutzel and his intensivecarehotline.com team for their support and advocacy in my dad’s life.Being able to communicate with your team when I needed clarity while things were unfolding, the team didn’t leave me unanswered, even though it was through email, you were right there.Thank you very much for comforting me, because I was very vulnerable, and you truly had my back.Again, I want to thank each and every one of you for being the voice when we needed you all the most. I thank you for being here in this difficult times in our life.We love you, Patrik Hutzel and the critical care team.- Alexa”

"Patrik, I hope you are well. I thought you might be interested in this article. My sister is alive and well! She has gone from not being able to walk at all to taking regular walks and from not being able to talk to having full conversations.

I sensed something was very wrong early on and had no idea how to change the situation. I don't know what I would have done without your daily support and guidance. It was invaluable. Even though I have a strong medical background, it would have been difficult to understand all the inner workings of the ICU by myself. You taught me how to read all the important instruments that were keeping my sister alive. It was very apparent her care and my family were being manipulated in order to get the outcome they wanted. You and your staff gave me the courage and moral support to stand up to the doctors who literally harassed and tried to intimidate me on a daily basis to make my sister a DNR.This started only a few days in before her brain even had a chance to heal. I found the doctors would stop at nothing to attempt to get a DNR from me, even pitting my family against me since I was the only hold out of many people. It was after my sister's discharge I found out that the nurse's station had her driver's license the entire time. She was listed as a donor. No wonder they wanted to make her a DNR! I don't know what I would have done without your invaluable guidance and that of your staff. No doubt you helped save my sister's life. I can never thank you enough.Best regards,Cassidy

"I have to tell you Patrik, your phone call the other day was VERY empowering. Thank you SO MUCH for that phone call."-Daren

"Hi Patrik,Thank you for your perspective and advice during my father's recent two-week stay in the ICU. You saved him from a tracheostomy, which was not necessary. He would have had yet another unnecessary surgery, which could have resulted in his death.We brought him home on July 1st. He has been doing exceptionally well. He started eating within days and will hopefully not need the feeding tube within a week or so. I wish we would have known about your services before we agreed to the surgery to supposedly remove the blood from his brain from his latest fall.At least he is now home and recovering. His speech has miraculously returned as well. Prior to this his speech was unintelligible due to his advanced Parkinson's. He is now doing PT/ST and playing dominos with his great grand kids!Truly appreciate your insight and quick advice once we were able to get the hospital records! I will be recommending you to my friends, family and anyone that may face an ICU situation.Thank you again,Theresa"

"Hello Patrik and Intensive Care Hotline team,Firstly, I wanted to thank you for all your help and support over what was the most trying and scariest time for my family while we sat beside our 80 year old mom's bed side while she was in ICU for an extended period of time of 69 days.We were approached on multiple occasions by teams of doctors alerting us to them holding out little hope for mom's recovery. Without your help, I think we could have (eventually) been pushed into a different choice.Having someone with insider knowledge, armed me with the confidence, vocabulary and knowledge of our rights in this most difficult situation. We knew that we just had to give mom time and she would show us which direction she wanted to go in.Fast forward to the present and my mom is now in her 3rd week of rehabilitation at a different hospital and is going strong. She is eating diced food, the trach stoma has fully healed and there is not even a scar. She is feeding herself, attending to most of her own personal care, like feeding herself, brushing her teeth and hair etc.The OT team have visited her home and are making arrangements for any adjustments to the family house, ready for mom to return.The highlight of everyday for me is going to the hospital after work to chat, share a meal and have a laugh with my mom. Such a blessing which none of us take for granted.So again...a very heartfelt thank you from myself and my family. Your service in the intensivecarehotline.com is literally a lifeline which I would recommend to anyone going through having a loved one in ICU.I'm glad that we did not require your service for Intensive Care at Home but grateful that it was an option and know that the ICU team at my mom's hospital are now very aware of your service! So I wish you all the best for establishing this service.Thank you and kind regards,Klara and family"

"Hello Patrik and intensivecarehotline.com team,Thank you for your perspective on the tracheostomy. We did not do the trach and my father was able to wean off the breathing tube on Friday and has been stable since. He is swallowing okay and is managing his secretions.- Theresa

"Patrik, together with the Intensive Care Hotline team, is a reliable source of knowledge. He puts a smile on the mind, body, and soul. I can't find the words to describe how much relief he gives me to know he's out here advocating for us. These ICU hospitals drain every ounce of fight out of you by lying, manipulation, and plain evilness. Patrik saves lives and our sanity because without him and his team, I know I would be sick and heartbroken.

Again, I thank Patrik and his team very much!"

Hi Patrik,I greatly appreciate everything your service has provided to us. The knowledge you have shared has helped immeasurably! I have learned so much and become more empowered through the videos and emails. There were times when I had no one else to help and I'm so glad you and your team were there.I only wish I had listened sooner and maybe things would have not gotten so bad before they finally got better. Luckily, my sister has survived the horrible experiences she went through and made it out of the LTAC alive.I'm sure this will be a long recovery at home and I will try to refer to your advice as we navigate the next steps.Thanks for everything.- Andrea

It has been 3 years and I always share with everyone how Patrik saved my husband's life. My husband, Tom, had just completed treatment for cancer when he then contracted COVID. He was vented twice, hospitalized for 4 months, and a nurse told me to take him off the vent because his quality of life was so horrible that a nursing home would not take him. He went into the hospital at 280 and came home at 180, unable to stand, eat and had a stage 4 wound.But, he went back to teaching for 2 years and is retiring. Upon his retirement, I know he is a miracle and finding Patrik helped save his life. He was able to dance at his son's wedding because of Patrik. He got to see another son graduate from military band boot camp. THANK YOU, PATRIK! I will forever and ever be grateful for your care and wisdom!I know God led me to you, and I will forever and ever be grateful for your support and advocacy! My heart has grieved all of those that I witnessed lose their battle and had always wished they had found you, too.God bless you and your company always!- Karen M.

Hi,Patrik Hutzel is assisting my family and myself with our dad in Oregon. Thank you all so much for sharing your time and knowledge with us!I know my dad would not be with us and alive now if not for the expertise of Patrik Hutzel and the Intensive Care Hotline.Again, we are also very grateful to have been fortunate enough to have him take a look at his case and advocate for us.Keep up the fight!

Hi Patrik,

He is no longer in ICU due to the awareness you brought. I was able to get him off the ventilator. He is breathing on his own and is alert. We are still dealing with a high WBC count and perhaps moving him too soon. Thank you.

Lisa

I wrote this letter last year! Thank you so much for your support. My sister awoke months later. She is going great! She is fully conscious. No short term memory issues.She is home with family. She is learning to walk again. It was a long road but we are glad that we never gave up. Now my sister can tell her own story.

Chiquita

Hi Patrik,

Great subject matter as I feel this is very beneficial to all ICU recipient's and their families experiencing these health concerns, especially after having been through it myself and seen a hospital's tactics first hand.Thank you for helping to raise awareness mate.

Regards,

Paul

Hi Patrik and team,Just wanted to extend my thanks and appreciation to you all for working with me during my sister's illness.She is recovering beautifully. She is doing physical therapy and speech and is doing well with all them.Thank you for everything you did.

Jasetta

Hi Patrik, I thank you and your team, all so much for your assistance to us, for my mother-in-law, in your knowledge, care, and updates. Your assistance helped us to be knowledgeable to converse with the doctors and the nurses about everything going on with her. If we didn't have your help, then they would have just called her brain dead and pulled the plug after her stroke. Instead, my mother-in-law has continued to improve, and we know now what to ask and keep helping her at home. Thank you again, so very much for your service. This is so needed by all dealing with ICU and intensive care teams.

Crystal

I so appreciated you getting back to me quickly today, Patrik. I am impressed with your level of knowledge and professionalism. This is one of the most difficult times of my life and my sister's. Thank you for being there.

Cassandra

Hi, Patrik.I was reading through your page today and started thinking about the time you helped my friend who was in a COVID unit on a ventilator in 2021. I just wanted to thank you because I don't remember if I told you that our friend survived at the time and after leaving the hospital, went back to work several months later. He was the only one to survive on the COVID floor! Without the help of many and perseverance of his proxy and my guidance that came from you, he would not have survived! After he left the recovery place, I helped him to get strong again. If people would just educate themselves, get professional help and know their rights, we could have more success stories like these.Thank you and God bless!

Barbara

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