Diane’s Story- An Unfortunate Example of the Risks of Immobility and Sedation

Diane’s Story: An Unfortunate Example of the Risks of Immobility and Sedation

Despite their widespread use in the ICU, decades of research have proven the risks of immobility and sedation. And as clinicians, it’s easy to approach care as a robotic conveyor belt instead of focusing on the individuals, families, lives, careers, and futures that are being affected. But in reality, ICU patients are being harmed, having

Learn More > from Diane’s Story: An Unfortunate Example of the Risks of Immobility and Sedation

Tyler’s Story: How Evidence-Based Practices Helped Preserve an ARDS Survivor’s Quality of Life

Tyler’s Story: How Evidence-Based Practices Helped Preserve an ARDS Survivor’s Quality of Life

Most patients who are admitted to the ICU in need of mechanical ventilation have to suffer through days or even weeks of deep sedation, immobility, and all the ill effects of these practices. But for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), this lack of adherence to evidence-based practices can spell the death of their

Learn More > from Tyler’s Story: How Evidence-Based Practices Helped Preserve an ARDS Survivor’s Quality of Life

Bryan’s Story: How the ABCDEF Bundle Helped a Man with Severe ARDS Walk Out of the ICU with Near-Perfect Cognition

Bryan Carter is a man with a history of type 1 diabetes who was admitted to the ICU for acute respiratory failure secondary to influenza A, which quickly developed into acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). He remained awake and walking while intubated on mechanical ventilation, even with high ventilator settings, including a PEEP of 18

Learn More > from Bryan’s Story: How the ABCDEF Bundle Helped a Man with Severe ARDS Walk Out of the ICU with Near-Perfect Cognition

Megan’s Story: How Management of Delirium in the ICU Can Vastly Improve Patient Outcomes

Megan’s Story: How Management of Delirium in the ICU Can Vastly Improve Patient Outcomes

More often than not, ICU patients today are subjected to unbearable bouts of sedation, immobility, and the inevitable delirium that accompanies a lack of evidence-based treatment. Sadly, many of these patients don’t survive, and even more of them are robbed of their ability to thrive, both while they’re in the ICU, and after they’ve left

Learn More > from Megan’s Story: How Management of Delirium in the ICU Can Vastly Improve Patient Outcomes

Example of How Evidence-Based Care Can Improve Patient Outcomes in the Intensive Care Unit

Kenneth’s Story: A Poignant Example of How Evidence-Based Care Can Improve Patient Outcomes in the Intensive Care Unit

In my haste to convey the horror experienced by so many patients who have been sedated and immobilized in the ICU, the case studies I’ve published have not had particularly happy endings. So far, the cases I’ve detailed have involved either the patient dying, being traumatized by the delirium they suffered while under sedation, or

Learn More > from Kenneth’s Story: A Poignant Example of How Evidence-Based Care Can Improve Patient Outcomes in the Intensive Care Unit

Jim’s Story: How Evidence-Based Practices Can Stop the Domino Effect and Reduce ICU Complications

Jim’s Story: How Evidence-Based Practices Can Stop the Domino Effect and Reduce ICU Complications

I hate to say it, but what I’m about to tell you is nothing new. The unnecessary suffering I’m about to describe has occurred countless times due to a culture of habit in the intensive care unit, and a lack of support or investment in evidence-based practices. Regrettably, for many who end up in the

Learn More > from Jim’s Story: How Evidence-Based Practices Can Stop the Domino Effect and Reduce ICU Complications

Sally’s Story: How Outdated ICU Patient Care is Crippling Outcomes for COVID Patients

Sally’s Story: How Outdated ICU Protocols Are Crippling Outcomes for COVID Patients

Throughout the pandemic, it’s become increasingly obvious that the lack of evidence-based ICU protocols is having a devastating effect on ICU patient care. Over the last two years, I’ve seen countless examples of this, and it breaks my heart because most of these tragedies are totally preventable. One of the most poignant examples of this

Learn More > from Sally’s Story: How Outdated ICU Protocols Are Crippling Outcomes for COVID Patients

ICU testimonialI 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.

Mikita Fuchita, MD
Colorado, USA

READ MORE TESTIMONIALS >

DOWNLOAD THIS VALUABLE FREE REPORT

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.