Category: Delirium in the ICU

Episode 157: Sedation is Sleep-Deprivation

Walking Home From The ICU Episode 157: Sedation is Sleep-Deprivation

For decades, we have culturally passed on the myth that patients are sleeping while sedated into medically induced comas. We have assured ourselves and each other that sedation “prevents PTSD”. Research has proven that sedation makes true restorative sleep impossible and real recall of the reality of the ICU is protective against post-ICU PTSD. So

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Walking Home From The ICU Episode 145: The Trauma of Sedation and Immobility in Families in the ICU

Walking Home From The ICU Episode 145: The Trauma of Sedation and Immobility in Families in the ICU

Sedation and immobility impact more than patient outcomes in the ICU. Family members also suffer the isolation, burden, trauma, and loss from sedation and immobility in and after the ICU. Families are also at risk of developing post-ICU syndrome themselves. Nonetheless, they are left unprepared to care for their loved ones who are suffering the

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Episode 144: Living With a "Sedation-Induced Brain Injury" and PICS

Walking Home From The ICU Episode 144: Living With a “Sedation-Induced Brain Injury” and PICS

Until post-ICU syndrome is widely known and the impact is deeply appreciated, we will continue to fall short of evidence-based sedation and mobility practices. The real experts on post-ICU syndrome (PICS) are those that live with it. Carol Billian joins us now to share her personal expertise. Episode Transcription Kali Dayton 0:47 It’s time to

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Episode 143- The Impact of Delirium on Stroke Survivors

Walking Home From The ICU Episode 143: The Impact of Delirium on Stroke Survivors

We know that stroke patients are at high risk of poor cognitive, physical, and psychological outcomes. How does delirium impact their outcomes and how can we better protect patients from additional brain injury from delirium? Episode Transcription Kali Dayton 0:00 Green. Rosa, welcome to the podcast. Can you introduce yourself to us? Rosa Hart, BSN,

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Episode 139: The Power of RN "Soft-Skills" to Change Outcomes

Walking Home From The ICU Episode 139: The Power of RN “Soft-Skills” to Change Outcomes

It goes without saying that nurses are the gatekeepers of patient outcomes in the ICU. Do ICU nurses *really* aspire to care for unresponsive and atrophying bodies? How does the ABCDEF Bundle impact the nursing role, skillset, and job fulfillment? James Fletcher, BSN, RN seems to fit the mold of a nurse that would thrive

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Walking Home From The ICU Episode 131 Occupational Therapists as Leaders In the ICU

Walking Home From The ICU Episode 131: Occupational Therapists as Leaders In the ICU

When Brenna’s ICU set out to become an “Awake and Walking ICU”, Brenna, OTR/L, accepted the challenge. She shares with us her journey to leading her team to have the skills and culture to optimize mobility during critical illness. Episode Transcription Kali Dayton 0:13 A few years ago, I spoke at a conference and I

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Walking Home From The ICU Episode: 129: Cognitive Rehabilitation After ICU With Dr. Jim Jackson

When patients suffer from delirium in the ICU, what resources are available to them to support their cognitive rehabilitation Psychologist, Dr. Jim Jackson, from episode 51, returns to the podcast. He shares with us his journey to writing his new book, “Clearing the Fog” as a roadmap to recovery for survivors. Episode Transcription Kali Dayton

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Walking Home From The ICU Episode128- Delirium Severity By ICU and Race

Walking Home From The ICU Episode: 128: Delirium Severity By ICU and Race

Let’s talk about delirium severity. Does the severity of delirium vary by ICU specialties or by ICU treatment? What role does sedation play in delirium severity? What role does race play in delirium severity? Dr. Damaris Ortiz shares with us key findings from her important research. Episode Transcription Kali Dayton 0:00 Yeah. Dr. Ortiz, welcome

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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

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