Hi there!
Today’s article is about, “My Granddad's in ICU
With Septic Shock After UTI (Urinary Tract Infection), Is He Improving? Quick Tip for Families in ICU!”
You may also watch the video here on our website https://intensivecarehotline.com/blog/my-granddads-in-icu-with-septic-shock-after-uti-urinary-tract-infection-is-he-improving-quick-tip-for-families-in-icu/ or you can continue reading the article below.
My Granddad's in ICU With Septic Shock After UTI (Urinary Tract Infection), Is He Improving? Quick Tip for Families in ICU!
Hi, it’s Patrik Hutzel from
intensivecarehotline.com with another quick tip for families in intensive care.
So, today’s tip is a question from Daniel who says, “My grandfather developed sepsis as a result of an untreated UTI (UTI stands for urinary tract infection). He is currently in an induced coma. His sepsis has progressed to septicemia, which is a step backwards. However, he is now on alternative antibiotics, more specific to the bacteria and they have actually reduced the amount of assistance needed to maintain his blood pressure, oxygen, etc. which I suppose is a step forward. I believe he will pull through; however, the
waiting, it’s excruciating at the moment, it’s just a waiting game.” Well, thank you so much Dan for writing in and sharing your grandfather’s situation.
Now, let me break this down for you. Well, it’s great that they found the right antibiotic to be specific to the bacteria. He is currently fighting and therefore, they were able to reduce the amount of assistance needed to maintain his blood
pressure, oxygen, etc., and that’s the natural result of that. He would have been on inotropes or vasopressors to maintain his blood pressure. He would have been on some level of fluid resuscitation as part of the sepsis and septic shock. It’s good that they were able to reduce the amount of inotropes and vasopressors as well as oxygen levels on the ventilator. Hopefully, they can wake him up.
I presume he’s in an induced coma and on a ventilator, most likely and
those are steps forward. You say you believe he will pull through and I believe the same. That is really important that you maintain a positive mindset, but I have also seen many septic shocks where there are many ups and downs, two steps forward, one step back, inotropes on, inotropes off again. Patients going to kidney
failure, then next thing you know, they go on dialysis. Next thing you know is you need to check their cardiac output,
cardiac index regularly with the Swan-Ganz or PA (Pulmonary Artery) catheter. So, this can take on a different life altogether if you will, but it doesn’t sound like that’s the direction your grandfather is heading at the moment.
Now, the waiting game is excruciating the same. I slightly disagree there with you, and the reason I disagree is 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.
So, families that take ownership of situations like that get outcomes and they take responsibility. Now, what you need to do in a situation like that is get access to the medical records and get a professional like us here intensivecarehotline.com look over the medical records or get me to talk to the doctors and nurses directly, ask a series of
question, and wait for the answers. You will be surprised what difference it makes if you have a professional on your team, an advocate, or a consultant who understands intensive care just as well as they do. Once they know you are well equipped in your knowledge of intensive care, or you have someone on your team that’s just as equipped with intensive care knowledge as they are, they will treat you very differently.
Now, that’s why it’s so important that you get a second opinion. Also let’s just say, God forbid, things go bad, things go backwards, your grandfather has taken a turn backwards, they will start talking about end of life pretty quickly. They will start talking about withdrawal of treatment pretty quickly and so forth. That’s why it’s so important that you are one step ahead, that you can read what’s happening, that you can read medical records and that you can almost look into the future, which is certainly something we can do when we look at medical records, in particular. At the moment, you’re just getting information from intensive care teams, but you can’t
really verify what’s happening and that is why it’s so important that you get a second opinion in real-time, not when it’s too late. So, the families that really take ownership and get the best outcomes are the families that get help and are willing to engage a consultant who can give a second opinion and that can guide with tips, tricks, and strategies at any given time.
I can confidently say that
we are getting outcomes, and you can verify that at intensivecarehotline.com on our testimonial section or on our podcast section where we interviewed clients and verified that we have saved lives. It’s no exaggeration whatsoever that we have saved lives with our consulting and advocacy just by asking all the right questions, by being a leading expert when it comes to patient and family rights in intensive care.
Most families have no idea that they have actually rights. So, the notion that this is a waiting game is only partially correct then,
because you need to be one step ahead, you can’t be two steps behind. Most families in intensive care are two steps behind and that’s the biggest challenge for them, and they don’t even know that they’re two steps behind.
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 have been
consulting and advocating for families in intensive care since 2013, and we’ve been getting amazing results for our clients. Have a look at our testimonial section and on our podcast section where you see client interviews as well.
Because of that, we have created a membership for families of critically ill patients in intensive care where you have access to me and my team, and we answer all
questions intensive care related. If you want to become a member of our membership for families of critically ill patients in intensive care, go to intensivecarehotline.com, click on the membership link or go to intensivecaresupport.org directly. In the
membership, you also have access to 21 eBooks and 21 videos that help you steer this incredibly difficult territory that is intensive care, and those videos and eBooks are exclusively available for our members.
I also offer
one-on-one consulting and advocacy over the phone, Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp, whichever medium works best for you. I talk to you and your families directly. I talk to doctors and nurses directly. I ask all the questions you haven’t even considered asking but must be asked when you have a loved one in intensive care so that you can make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, and influence.
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 suspecting medical negligence, but it is so much better to have them reviewed in real-time so that you can take action in real-time.
I also represent you in family meetings with intensive care teams and I strategize with you what is the best strategy for a family meeting in intensive care, which includes not attending it in the first place.
All of that you get at intensivecarehotline.com. Call us on one of the numbers on the top of our website or send us an email to support@intensivecarehotline.com.
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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.
