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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

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Episodio 113 Introducción a una “UCI Despierta y Caminante

Walking Home From The ICU Episode 113: Introducción a una “UCI Despierta y Caminante”

“Awake and Walking ICU” – Episodio en español. Que experimentan a los pacientes durante sus comas inducidas? Porque y como debemos evitar a la sedation continua durante a la enfermedad crítica? Que es una “UCI Despierta y Caminante”? Este episodio cambiará a la perspectiva de nuestras prácticas en la UCI. Episode Transcription Episodio en español

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Walking Home From The ICU Episode 112 Unplanned Extubations

Walking Home From The ICU Episode 112: Unplanned Extubations

What does research reveal about how and why do unplanned extubations occur? How dangerous are unplanned extubations? We dive into it deep in this episode. Episode Transcription One of the common foundational reasons for giving sedation automatically after intubation is for an inherited sense of safety. Between being uneducated about the risks and repercussions of

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Walking Home From The ICU Episode 111 Both Sides of the ICU Bed With Dr. Wischmeyer

Walking Home From The ICU Episode 111: Both Sides of the ICU Bed With Dr. Wischmeyer

What is like to be an ICU delirium survivor and intensivist? How did Dr. Wischmeyer’s own nutrition research transform his outcomes during his most critical ICU stay? He shares his journey with us in this episode. Episode Transcription Kali Dayton 0:00 Being a patient in the ICU brings a breadth of wisdom and insight. I’m

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Walking Home From The ICU Episode 110: Occupational Therapy in the Trauma ICU

Walking Home From The ICU Episode 110: Occupational Therapy in the Trauma ICU

The trauma ICU has unique risks to agitation, delirium, and long-term impairments. How does occupational therapy help the trauma ICU team avoid sedation, maximize mobility, and radically transform patient outcomes? Phillip Gonzalez, OTR, MOT, shares with us his expertise and success as an occupational therapist in the trauma ICU and traumatic brain injuries. Episode Transcription

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Episode 109: The ABCDEF Bundle for Traumatic Brain Injuries

Walking Home From The ICU Episode 109: The ABCDEF Bundle for Traumatic Brain Injuries

Traumatic brain injuries can have distinct exceptions that necessitate deep sedation and immobility. How then can we apply the ABCDEF bundle to protect injured brains and restore lives? Charlotte Davis, BSN, RN, CCRN and Richard Rivera, BSN, RN-BC share their expertise and their team’s incredible success with the ABCDEF bundle in the settings of TBI.

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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

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As an RN in the Medical-Surgical ICU at the hospital I work at, I began my interest in ICU Liberation through an Evidence-Based Practice project.

While I was initially grabbed by what the literature has to say about over-sedation and patient outcomes, it wasn’t until I discovered Kali’s Walking Home From The ICU podcast that a culture of sedationless ICU care sounded tangible. The group I worked with on the project was both inspired, devastated, and intrigued by the stories Kali illuminates on the podcast, and we were able to bring her to our hospital for a virtual Zoom Webinar, where she presented on the practices in the Awake and Walking ICU.

This webinar was an incredible way to draw attention toward this necessary culture shift as Kali shared stories of patients awake and mobile in the ICU despite the complexity of their illness. The webinar inspired our final draft for the new practice guideline on analgesia and sedation management in the ICU, and since then we have seen intubated COVID patients playing tic tac toe on the door with staff members on the other side, taking laps around the unit, performing their own oral care using a hand mirror, and most importantly, keeping their autonomy and integrity while fighting to leave the ICU to resume the life they had before coming in.

Nora Raher, BSN, RN, MSICU
Virginia, USA

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Perception Versus Reality: Debunking The Myths About Medically-Induced Comas

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