“For years, intensive care has been changing its face, both in the world and in Italy. Patients are minimally sedated or kept totally awake. And this is because we have discovered that powerful drugs such as sedatives can have significant side effects. But the patient also goes kept active, from a physical and intellectual point of view. And in this the family can have a proactive role. For this reason, it is necessary to open intensive care to family members for better care of the patient who, let us not forget, is facing a crisis. delirium and profound muscle weakness even after a few days of hospitalization”. Thus to Adnkronos Salute Nicola Latronico, director of the Emergency-Urgency Department of Spedali Civili of Brescia and professor of Anesthesia and Intensive Care at the University of Brescia, on the occasion of the 78th congress of the Italian Society of Anesthesia, Resuscitation, Intensive Care, pain (Siaarti) underway in Naples.
“In addition to doctors and nurses – explains Latronico, who is also the national coordinator of the Intensive Care Area of Siaarti – families can help the patient in his treatment process, to reconstruct his experience, to reduce some important complications, one of which is delirium. A terrible condition, which has an incidence ranging from 30 to 70% of artificially ventilated patients. The patient lives in a parallel world and is inattentive to everything that happens around him. Fortunately, delirium is a transitory phase , although it can have long-term side effects, including the increased risk of dementia. This is also why the presence of a family member at your side is important.”
Another problem that afflicts 25% of patients in intensive care “is the loss of muscle mass resulting in profound weakness – underlines Latronico – Unlike delirium, which is linked to the severity of the disease, muscle weakness is also linked to immobility From here, the need to mobilize patients as soon as possible but for this they must be kept awake, so mobilization also reduces the incidence of delirium and improves the cognitive state of people So less sedative drugs, more physiotherapists “in intensive care” already open to patients’ families – concludes Latronico – A cultural change has been taking place throughout the world for some years, although not widespread and applied in a homogeneous way in our country the process is ongoing but not always satisfactory.”
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