Hi there!
Today’s article is about, “Does a Tracheostomy
Affect the Brain? Quick Tip for Families in Intensive Care!”
You may also watch this through this YouTube link https://youtu.be/N9T0zbO6ERI or you can continue reading the article below.
Does a Tracheostomy Affect the Brain? Quick Tip for Families in Intensive Care!
Hi, it’s Patrik Hutzel from
intensivecarehotline.com with another quick tip for families in intensive care.
So, today’s tip is a question that I had from a reader who says, “My mom is in ICU, she’s on the ventilator. The ICU team wants to do a tracheostomy. Does the tracheostomy affect the brain?” What a great question.
Again, it illustrates to me 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, and this question is further illustrating that. Let me explain this to you.
So, whilst the tracheostomy does not impact on the brain as such, it impacts on the brain indirectly. Here is why, when someone is in intensive care, you are on a ventilator with a breathing tube, and most of the time they are in an induced coma. They are on
sedation such as propofol, Versed or Midazolam, or sometimes Precedex. They’re often on opiates such as morphine or fentanyl because intubation is very painful and uncomfortable.
So, when someone is in an induced coma, that is impacting on the brain because someone is more or less asleep all the time, induced by medications.
One of the main
purposes of a tracheostomy is to wake someone up from an induced coma, assuming they can’t come off the ventilator, which is why a tracheostomy is often done in the first place.
So, once a tracheostomy has been done in most cases, you can stop sedation and
opiates very quickly so that, a patient can wake up and be awake and hopefully, the brain is functioning. That’s assuming there are no other neurological issues such as that a patient, God forbid, had a stroke or seizures while they were in an induced coma.
So therefore, a tracheostomy does impact on the brain because it gives the patient the ability to wake up from an induced coma in most cases.
So, the question is definitely relevant and that’s how it’s been answered. Yes, it does impact on the brain because sedation and opiates can be switched
off and a patient can wake up and work their way towards weaning off the ventilator in many cases.
I hope that explains and
answers your question.
Now, we have a membership for families of critically ill patients in intensive care at intensivecarehotline.com if you go to our membership link and you can get access to the membership there or if 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, intensive care related.
I also offer one-on-one consulting and advocacy for families in intensive care over the phone, Skype, Zoom, and email. I talk to you and your family directly and I advise you I strategize with you, and I talk to doctors and nurses directly.
I have worked in intensive care for over 20 years in three different countries where I also worked as a nurse manager for over 5 years in intensive care. I have been consulting and advocating for families in intensive care for over 10 years here at intensivecarehotline.com, all around the world. Have a look at our testimonial section and at our podcast section where you get all the feedback from our clients as well. We have saved lives over the years. I can say that without any exaggeration by advocating for families in intensive care.
When I talk to doctors and nurses directly, I ask all the questions you haven’t
even considered asking and you will see that when I talk to them, you get a lot more information than you ever thought was possible once again because I know what to look for, I know what to ask, and I know how to get information from them that you are not able to get because you don’t have all the clinical insights that only someone gets who has worked in intensive care for so long.
Now, I also represent you in family meetings with intensive care teams. Again, I strategize with you (A) whether you should go to a family meeting, and (B) if you do go, what do you say? When do you retreat? Should you even go in a family meeting with intensive care teams in the first place?
Most families in intensive care have no idea what to do. They have no
idea that it’s even an option not to go to a family meeting. They have no idea what to say or what questions to ask in a family meeting. It’s critical that you have representation from someone who understands intensive care inside out.
We also offer 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 simply suspecting medical negligence.
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 support@intensivecarehotline.com.
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, and comment below what you want to see next or what questions and insights you have.
Thanks for watching.
This is Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com and I will talk to you in a few days.
