Is it save to mobilize patients with trans-formal devices such as balloon pumps, impellas, and ECMO? Who was the first person to dare to ask, “Why can’t we mobilize patients with trans-femoral balloon pumps?” Stephen Ramsey, PT, DPT, CCS shares with us his journey to developing the Ramsey protocol and revolutionizing mobility in the CVICU.
Walking Home From The ICU Episode 166: The Struggle of an ICU Revolutionist to Save Lives
What is it like for one lone ICU clinician to truly understand the risks of sedation and immobility? What it is like for them to try to implement interventions like awakening trials that have been supported by decades of research? How does lack of support and success increase moral injury, burnout, and the loss of
Health care inequality in critical care medicine is multifactorial and negatively impacts patient outcomes [18]. During COVID-19, for instance, it was noted that Hispanic patients were more at risk of having severe COVID-19 infections, and despite their younger age, they had a higher mortality rate. Socioeconomic disparities, lack of access to health care, timing, and
I stumbled upon Kali’s podcast midway through my anesthesia critical care fellowship in February 2021. At our institution, I got the impression that patients in the ICU either got better on their own or had a prolonged and complicated course to LTAC or death. In her podcast, Kali explained that LTAC was rarely the outcome for patients in the Awake and Walking ICU in Salt Lake City.
Their ICU survivors hardly ever got trached, PEGed, or sent to LTAC, and literally walked out of the hospital in condition as close to their previous health as they could be. Although the concept of using no sedation on ventilated patients was completely foreign to me, it made sense based on what I had read in the literature. I devoured all of the episodes from the beginning, many of them bringing tears and regret for my ignorance, followed by inspiration and hope in later episodes. Listening to her podcast has been one of the most profound experiences in my short, eight-year career in medicine.
After discovering the no sedation, early mobility practice at the Awake and Walking ICU, my focus shifted to bringing it to my own institution. I visited Salt Lake City in March to witness it with my own eyes. Since then, I’ve been in touch closely with Kali and Louise to learn the practical approaches to sedation wean and sedation avoidance for newly intubated patients in the ICU.
Implementation has been challenged by pushback at the bedside, but knowing how most patients can be off sedation and comfortable allowed me to advocate for the patients. So far, four patients were successfully kept off of sedation after getting intubated, and two of them immediately smiled at me as they woke up from induction meds. Kali and the members of the Awake and Walking ICU have decades of experience in this approach.
Mikita Fuchita, MD
Perception Versus Reality: Debunking The Myths About Medically-Induced Comas
By clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to this site's Privacy Policy. Your information is always kept safe.