Hospice patients with Bi-paps and C-paps

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At my hospice lately, we have been getting a lot of people on Bi-paps or C-pap machines. Is this happening at other hospices too? I thought these machines were similiar to ventilators? Why are hospice patients being put on these new style of ventilators? I thought hospice was about dying a natural death? Thanks:wink2:

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Specializes in NICU, Psych, Education.

CPAP can help with the insomnia that goes along with sleep apnea, so it's about comfort and not really an attempt to reverse a disease process.

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cpaps & bipaps are not considered life-sustaining, unlike vents.

yes, i've had sev'l.

leslie

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Thanks EricEnfermero and earle58. I have a guy who has to wear his pap 24 hours a day!!!! Poor guy, he is so weak that he has to take it off just for a few seconds at a time in order to take his pills and a bite of food. After he does that he is exhausted and has to rest. They say that if he would remove his mask that he would die right away.:( He is alert and oriented.

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We have been getting a lot of these patients recently, as well. Most of them hate to wear them and get agitated.

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I think it is definetly comfort.....who wants to see a person dying because they are struggling to breathe??? That's just horrible.....

Some people just lose their respiratory drive, how terrifying would that feel to be going through that? I can't even imagine!

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Yes, it must be very scarey not being able to breathe. I can't even imagine how awful that must feel to a person.:(

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