Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Quick Tip for Families in Intensive Care: Can You Tell Me If My Ventilated Child in ICU with a Tracheostomy is Breathing Spontaneously or Not?

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

So, today’s tip is actually about, “Ventilation settings.” I’m talking to a client at the moment who has their child in ICU, and their child is breathing at a breathing rate of 14 breaths per minute, which is delivered by the machine guaranteed every minute.  The display shows that there’s a total of 17 breaths per minute, which means the child would be triggering three spontaneous breaths per minute as well, and the child has been doing that for quite some time.

So, the client is now asking me, “Hey, is my child breathing spontaneously?” I said, yes, your child is breathing spontaneously by around three breaths per minute, and apparently, the child has been doing this for quite some time and the intensive care team is denying that the child is actually breathing spontaneously on top of the guaranteed respiratory rate they’re getting from the machine, which again is 14 breaths per minute guaranteed every minute.

So clearly, the child is breathing spontaneously but the intensive care team is saying, “No, that is not the case. It’s just fluctuation from the machine, it’s because the tracheostomy is leaking, it’s because the machine is not doing the right thing.” My experience is that for example, if there is water in the circuit, yes, you can get extra triggered breaths that are not initiated by a patient; however, then you got to empty the water in the circuits, and then that stops. If there’s a leakage and that triggers breath, which can happen, you need to stop the leakage, maybe the child needs a bigger tracheostomy. Those are the things that I’ve seen over the years. Yes, this can happen, but it usually is eliminated very quickly as soon as you’ve got the underlying issue fixed.

So, it makes you wonder how much do people really know in that place about ventilation? I mean, working in the ICU really, it’s a very delicate skill. It takes years, potentially decades to master and understand what’s exactly happening with a patient.

Once again, 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.

I have worked in critical care for over 20 years in three different countries where I also work as a nurse unit manager for over 5 years. I have been consulting and advocating for families in intensive care for the last 11 years since 2013 here at intensivecarehotline.com. You can see our testimonies in our testimonial section as well as have a look at some video podcasts with client testimonials as well.

So, that is my quick tip for today.

It’s a short one, but again you have to question everything when you are in intensive care with a family member. You can’t afford getting it wrong because this is a once-in-a-lifetime situation. You can’t be in the 99% bracket of families who don’t get help. This is a life-or-death situation. If you think you can manage this by yourself, you are probably in for a big ride and you won’t get the outcomes that you want. You need a second opinion and we are here to do that. You couldn’t have come to a better place to get a second opinion than here at intensivecarehotline.com.

That’s why we also created a membership for families of critically ill patients in intensive care where you can get access to me and my team, in the membership area at intensivecarehotline.com by clicking on the membership link, or by going to intensivecaresupport.org directly. Once again, in the membership, you have access to me and my team, 24 hours a day, and we answer all questions, intensive care related. In the membership, you also have access to eBooks and other videos that are not publicly available, and all questions for families in intensive care are answered in those ebooks and videos.

Now, I also offer one-on-one consulting and advocacy for families in intensive care by talking to you and your families on the phone, by talking to doctors and nurses on the phone, Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp, whichever medium works best for you. You will see that once I start talking to them and once I set you up with the right questions, you will see that the dynamics change in your favor.

Once again, most families think they can manage a life-or-death situation by themselves, and you can’t really afford to get that wrong in this once-in-a-lifetime situation. Then they wonder if they don’t get the outcome, what went wrong? Well, what went wrong is that you didn’t get advice which is critical in a situation like that, and that’s what we can help you with very, very, very fast. Really, within minutes, after talking to doctors and nurses, you will see that the dynamics will have changed in your favor.

We also offer medical record reviews in real-time so that you can make informed decisions, and have peace of mind, control, power, and influence in real-time. It’s really important that you have another pair of eyes looking over things and making recommendations, especially if you’re not happy with what the intensive care team is telling you and is putting you under pressure to make decisions, etc. We can help, we’ve seen it all, we know what to do, we know how to position your critically ill loved one, so they get the best care and treatment and a better outcome. We’ve done this many, many times. Again, have a look at our testimonial section  and at our client podcast videos.

Now, I also represent you in family meetings with intensive care teams so that you have representation there and yet that you don’t get walked all over in family meetings with intensive care teams. We also offer medical record reviews after intensive care if you have unanswered questions, if you need closure, or if you are simply suspecting medical negligence.

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

If you like my video, 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 and comment below what you want to see next or what questions and insights you have.

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.

Related Articles:

Quick Tip for Families in ICU: Is ICP & Tracheostomy Needed After Subarachnoid Haemorrhage in ICU? Quick Tip for Families in Intensive Care: Why Pressure Area Care (Skin Care) on ECMO is so Important! Quick Tip for Families in Intensive Care: Heart Failure After COVID ARDS Quick Tip for Families in ICU: Should You go to LTAC from ICU with Ventilation or Tracheostomy? Quick Tip for Families in ICU: What’s the Evidence for a Patient in ICU Being Brain Dead?