The intensive care unit: How to make this unfriendly environment geriatric-friendly

Publication date: Available online 8 January 2020Source: European Journal of Surgical OncologyAuthor(s): Francesca Tardini, Riccardo Pinciroli, Lorenzo BerraAbstractIt was only when we received a thank you note from the patient's daughter that I realized how small things can make a big difference, even in complicated scenarios such as an intensive care unit (ICU) stay. It was Easter Day, and a patient coded in the Emergency Medicine ward: Mr. Hood showed acute respiratory failure. He was 86 years old, admitted for cardiac failure, and was now on the point of being discharged.I asked myself: should I intubate him? Would he benefit from my resuscitation? However, my mind, freshly trained in critical care, had the algorithm clear; then, the critical care machine started: intubation, mechanical ventilation and ICU admission for bilateral interstitial pneumonia revealed by CT scan. The patient was conscious and accepted all maneuvers, but we had no time to call his wife and daughters to let him say goodbye before intubation.
Source: European Journal of Surgical Oncology (EJSO) - Category: Surgery Source Type: research