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

So, currently, we’re working with a client who has their husband in ICU. He’s been in ICU for a good two or three weeks now. He’s been ventilated with a breathing tube, still sedated and not waking up, and he’s not breathing by himself. He does need a tracheostomy by all accounts and the intensive care team has now been pushing for a tracheostomy. However, there is a big issue, his hemoglobin drops all the time, and he needs recurring blood transfusions and even if he gets a blood transfusion, his hemoglobin drops below 7 really, really fast again. So, there is some underlying bleeding which they only figured out yesterday, the underlying source, which is probably a rectal bleed, but it took them ages to figure out. That’s putting pressure on the family or the spouse to give consent to a tracheostomy.

Well, with the hemoglobin of 6.4, it’s very dangerous to do a tracheostomy because the risk for another bleed whilst doing a surgical procedure is very high and could be life-threatening. So, we have advised our client and the family to get the underlying issue fixed first, and that includes a gastroenterology consult, might include a hematology consult, but it is very dangerous doing a tracheostomy again, which is a surgical procedure, if hemoglobin keeps consistently dropping and blood transfusions need to be consistently given.  Now, turns out that when they did do a follow up CT (Computed Tomography) scan, that it looks like there is a rectal bleed. The client might also need a colonoscopy to stop the bleeding or to dig deeper into what’s causing the bleeding, and then recommend solutions from there.

The biggest challenge for families in intensive care is always 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.

Whilst this gentleman urgently needs a tracheostomy, I think there’s agreement on that, but the underlying issues need to be fixed. It could turn out into a life-threatening situation. He might end up on inotropes and vasopressors if his hemoglobin drops too fast, especially if another surgery might cause another bleed, it could be really life-threatening.

So, I hope that gives you some insights what to look for when you have a loved one in intensive care with ongoing blood transfusions, with ongoing bleeds, what needs to happen to identify the source of it and so forth. Intensive care teams don’t always have all the answers. They often need to seek consultation from other specialty, i.e. in this situation again, gastroenterology and/or hematology.

We’re getting so many questions from families in intensive care, which is why I keep making those videos, that as many families of critical patients in intensive care can get value from our videos.

Now, I have worked in critical care for nearly 25 years in three different countries where I also worked as a nurse unit manager for over 5 years in intensive care. I’ve been consulting and advocating for families in intensive care since 2013 here at intensivecarehotline.com. We’ve been saving many lives with our consulting and advocacy. You can verify that on our testimonial section at intensivecarehotline.com or you can watch or listen to some of our video podcasts that we have done with clients, verifying the outcomes and results that we’re getting, and the difference our consulting and advocacy makes.

That’s also why we have created a membership for families of critically ill patients in intensive care and you can become a member if you go to intensivecarehotline.com, click on the membership link or go to intensivecaresupport.org directly. In the membership area, you have access to me and my team, 24 hours a day, in the membership area and via email, and we answer all questions intensive care related.

In the membership, you also have exclusive access to 21 eBooks and 21 videos that I have personally written and recorded sharing all my vast knowledge from 2.5 decades of intensive care nursing where I help you to make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power and influence, making sure your loved one gets best care and treatment while they are in ICU.

I also offer one-on-one consulting and advocacy over the phone, Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp, whichever medium works best for you and your family. I talk to you and your family directly. I talk to doctors and nurses directly, on your behalf, with you. Once again, when I talk to doctor and directly in particular, I ask all the questions that you haven’t even considered asking but must be asked when you have a loved one critically ill in intensive care. I talk to you and your family directly. I handhold you through this once in a lifetime situation that you can’t really afford to get wrong, and I’ll make sure you manage intensive care teams, so they don’t manage you.

I also represent you in family meetings with intensive care teams. Once again, making sure you make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, and influence, making sure your loved one gets best care and treatment.

We also do medical record reviews in real time so that you can get a second opinion in real time. 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.

All of that you get at the intensivecarehotline.com. Call us on one of the numbers on the top of our website or send an email to [email protected] with your questions.

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, comment below what you want to see next what questions and insights you have, and share the video with your friends and families.

I also do a weekly YouTube live where I answer your questions live on the show and you will get notification for the YouTube live if you are a subscriber to my YouTube channel, or a subscriber to our email newsletter at intensivecarehotline.com.

If you want your video done quickly and your questions answered quickly, leave a donation here on the super chat button on YouTube and I will read out your question very quickly. I’ve got questions sitting in my email inbox from early this year and late last year, so I’m not even getting to all of them quick enough or leave as small donation anyway, it will help us to make as much content for families in intensive care as possible.

Thank you so much for watching.

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

Take care for now.