Brocosomy and 35% Oxygen

[paris2021]

Hi All. Just had a update. I feel sick with anxiety. Update reads as follows:

Brochosomy and Mucus done.

35% oxygen.

Muscle Relaxer been off since 1pm.

Still on his back.

Breathing a couple of breaths.

I don’t understand what this all means?

[Sepsur]

I’m not medically trained but on the face of what you have described, it sounds fairly positive.

Normally paralysing agents are removed to start the weaning & waking process. 35% is a fairly low requirement too.

[paris2021 in reply to Sepsur]

🤞

[Ferham]

Hi, I also would take this as a positive step, the oxygen level required is very low. I would try to speak to a doctor and get them to explain all the terminology to you . I know it's an anxious time for you, but most of us on here have been where you are, and when my husband got down to 35% oxygen we were ecstatic. It was the best bit of good news we had got in weeks .

[paris2021 in reply to Ferham]

I hope so. Unfortunately I am not next of kin it is his partner so by the time the news comes to me I am usually fourth or fifth down the chain x

[Gooddaysunshine]

I would say 35% oxygen sounds like positive news. When I was on intensive care and enhanced care wards, they were taking covid patients back to regular wards when they got to 16% oxygen requirement. Considering many of us had been on 100% oxygen at some stage, a 35% reading would have been not bad news at all.

Also being on his back is not necessarily something to worry about, if they were worried about oxygen intake they may have proned him, ie laid on his front.

Obviously it is worrying when news comes second hand, but hopefully things are moving in the right direction.

[Rhyl1 Partner Moderator ICUsteps]

Hi as others have said 35% oxygen is a low requirement (what we all breathe normally is 21%). So it is just a trickle of oxygen. Once the muscle relaxants wear off fully then he will start to breathe more breaths himself. Ventilators are clever and will let patients take a breath but put one in if the patient forgets. It’s the first stage of weaning off the ventilator.

[Hidden]

Do you mean a bronchotomy, as this is similar to a tracheotomy? The oxygen level looks low at 35%, the normal level is above 75%. Its a measure of the amount of oxygen in the blood. Although I was proned , this was not a permanent position ie I was turned on my front and then back on my back. Mucus builds up and needs to be cleared, usually by suction to keep your airways clear.

Keep positive and hope your brother responds soon.

[paris2021 in reply to Hidden]

It’s so confusing his partner is the next of kin so she tells us what is going on. I think she described it as a camera down his throat and they took a sample of mucus?

[Hidden in reply to paris2021]

Unfortunately they only discuss details with the next of kin, so you have to rely on what they tell you. Looking at my own notes there are so many tests and procedures they carry out and sometimes the terminology sounds similar. I hope you get a better picture after your skype.

[Sepsur in reply to paris2021]

They’ll be running tests on it to see if or what is causing mucus

[Hidden]

Always ask questions, then go research it online. 35 % oxygen is great and being on the back is easier to let the lungs breathe, especially if they are hardened or damaged. Prayers.

[Hidden]

Please note proning helps to relieve pressure on lungs, but it is not done all the time. I think I was proned about 5 times while on a ventilator and trachy. I was also proned once before I was on assisted breathing. Hope that helps.

[paris2021 in reply to Hidden]

Hello I know that he has been proned several times since he has been in icu. This morning update is now that he is on 40 oxygen. Coughing by himself. They are going to do a kidney scan to check his kidneys as he is still on the kidney machine. Temperature normal. Still on antibiotics - there will be a Skype this evening. I feel like I am living on a knife edge the fear and anxiety is overwhelming I just need him to be ok. When does anyone tell you that your loved one has turned a corner ? X

[Hidden in reply to paris2021]

I guess they wont commit until they are sure he is out of the woods. I lost 4 to 5 weeks before I came off ventilator/trachy and sedation. Then my next of kin could visit me, they also took me outside in the hospital garden, and slowly slowly I became more aware. I was in ICU for a further few weeks before being transfered, and still had quite a few tubes in me during that time.

[paris2021 in reply to Hidden]

It sounds like you have been through it. I am really pleased to hear of you recovery - I find it comforting

[Hidden in reply to paris2021]

Yes stay positive. It is a very worrying time, and there are so many unknowns. I was lucky, but in reality it was the doctors and nurses that kept me going. Its been over a year now, but I still have some after effects such as fatigue and permanent kidney damage. I have received on going support from my gp and the hospital.

[Sepsur in reply to paris2021]

We are all different