At the patient bedside

When you approach someone that you love who is in intensive care, you may be struck by the large number of machines and equipment that surrounds his bed. Everything you see is absolutely necessary for treatment or to ensure patient's safety.

For instance, this can happen when the patient is in a state of disorientation or psychomotor agitation dangerous for himself and for the operators: for example he can auto-remove the tubes or catheters needed for his life! This may be due to a nervous system diseases (eg, Glossary Link delirium) which determine poor cooperation or lack of control of his own body: it is not a judgment on the person, but the observation of a specific medical case.

In these cases, following the advice of the physician, the patient can be "restrained" using the most appropriate way.

When necessary, two types of restraint can be used:

• physical restraint: Bands attached to the bed are used in order to limit the mobility of the arms or legs. These stripes are made of soft materials that not cause injury.

• pharmacological restraints: sedative drugs (anxiolytics and tranquilizers) are given in order to avoid that dangerous behaviors have serious consequences.

pills The choice between these two methods is guided by the criterion of the least possible damage, both of these methods, in fact, have side effects that should be prevented.