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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Can Haldol Be Interfering With The Process Of Weaning Off The Ventilator?

My 70 year old husband has had a devastating 2 strokes and hemmorhage to his brain. He is on a ventilator and was being slowly weaned off it with trials on CPAP mode. ( My husband has sleep apnea and uses a CPAP at home). He has also developed some agitation and was started on Haldol. Every since he started on Haldol, he is less alert... is inattentive and quickly falls asleep when asked to attend to a task. The plan was to send him to a Rehab hospital as he was cognitively making process, but now he is failing his trials on CPAP mode on the ventilator and it is recommened to me that I send him to a skilled nursing home for the ventilator. Can the Haldol be interferring with his progress off the vent? Does this mean he mau not ever come off the vent?
Tue, 27 Jan 2015
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Internal Medicine Specialist,  's  Response
Haldol can certainly be interfering with his progress off the vent. It can be extremely sedating. Generally, when trying to get someone off a vent, you want to avoid sedating medications for this reason. It's not clear how significant his agitation was. Perhaps he doesn't need the Haldol to control it any more. If he remains on Haldol, it will be more difficult to get him off the vent. You might want to ask his doctors if he can be tried off the Haldol to improve his chances of getting off the vent. Perhaps they can try other medicines for any agitation he may get that won't cause such sedation. Hope this helps
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Can Haldol Be Interfering With The Process Of Weaning Off The Ventilator?

Haldol can certainly be interfering with his progress off the vent. It can be extremely sedating. Generally, when trying to get someone off a vent, you want to avoid sedating medications for this reason. It s not clear how significant his agitation was. Perhaps he doesn t need the Haldol to control it any more. If he remains on Haldol, it will be more difficult to get him off the vent. You might want to ask his doctors if he can be tried off the Haldol to improve his chances of getting off the vent. Perhaps they can try other medicines for any agitation he may get that won t cause such sedation. Hope this helps