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My Grandfather Is In The ICU, He's Suffering From Kidney

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Posted on Sun, 9 Aug 2020
Question: My grandfather is in the ICU, he's suffering from Kidney Failure, he's undergoing dialysis 3 times a week, he's also battling pneumonia, and today his doctor said that we are looking at acute respiratory failure. Information about him he's 83 years old, he had open heart surgery when he was 45 years old. He's been under a medically induced coma so they can use a ventilator. We are looking for alternatives with his treatment, I'm seriously worried that he'll go into a coma. So I guess the question is are we looking at the end?
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Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (55 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
not enough information

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

this is a question for his doctors! I don't have enough information to answer this question. Despite that, I can surely argue that an 83 years old with renal failure and pneumonia who's intubated in the ICU (I suppose he's receiving mechanical ventilation because you've mentioned coma induction), is definitely in dire straits. His doctors have access to important information regarding prognosis including his vital signs, clinical assessment, X-ray findings, arterial blood gases and lab tests (complete blood count, inflammatory markers, culture results, etc).

In such cases, the infection has to be dealt with while hoping for as few complications as possible - including new hospital-acquired infections with resistant pathogens, cardiovascular events, etc. Then getting rid of the ventilator is the next step, which can be a struggle on its own for an individual of his age.

I'll be glad to provide more specific comments about his health if you can upload data from his medical record, although I believe that his doctors should be asked about the prognosis.

Best wishes for his health,
Dr Panagiotis Zografakis,
Internal Medicine Specialist
Note: For further queries related to kidney problems and comprehensive renal care, talk to a Nephrologist. Click here to Book a Consultation.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis

Internal Medicine Specialist

Practicing since :1999

Answered : 3810 Questions

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My Grandfather Is In The ICU, He's Suffering From Kidney

Brief Answer: not enough information Detailed Answer: Hello, this is a question for his doctors! I don't have enough information to answer this question. Despite that, I can surely argue that an 83 years old with renal failure and pneumonia who's intubated in the ICU (I suppose he's receiving mechanical ventilation because you've mentioned coma induction), is definitely in dire straits. His doctors have access to important information regarding prognosis including his vital signs, clinical assessment, X-ray findings, arterial blood gases and lab tests (complete blood count, inflammatory markers, culture results, etc). In such cases, the infection has to be dealt with while hoping for as few complications as possible - including new hospital-acquired infections with resistant pathogens, cardiovascular events, etc. Then getting rid of the ventilator is the next step, which can be a struggle on its own for an individual of his age. I'll be glad to provide more specific comments about his health if you can upload data from his medical record, although I believe that his doctors should be asked about the prognosis. Best wishes for his health, Dr Panagiotis Zografakis, Internal Medicine Specialist