Respiratory Care

Medical Intensive Care Unit - MICU

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Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center

The Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center adopts a multidisciplinary approach to patient centered therapy tailoring Respiratory Therapy care to each patient's pathophysiology. The Respiratory Therapist formally participates in daily Multidisciplinary Rounds and contributes to the plan of care optimizing the patient's readiness for various transplants, treatment of post-transplant complications, reduction of mechanical ventilation days and VAPs, improvement of the patient's respiratory quality of life and readiness for discharge.

Interventions include, but are not limited to:

  • Lung
  • Heart-lung
  • Lung in a Box
  • Stem cell
  • Bone marrow
  • Kidney and liver organ transplants
  • Pulmonary hypertension
  • Obstructive and restrictive lung diseases
  • Extrathoracic conditions
  • ILD
  • Brachytherapy
  • Hematology and oncology patients in respiratory failure
  • GVHD
  • Burn-like skin management
  • Sleep disorders
  • Non-surgical neurological patients with or without multi-organ dysfunction or failure

MICU is the ASMBS approved Bariatric Center of Excellence's designated ICU for patients with post-surgical complications.

MICU's non-generic approach to respiratory management includes:

  • Lung protective strategies
  • ARDSNET Protocol
  • Hypothermic Protocol
  • Optiflow
  • Acute Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) vasodilator testing and management interventions that include inhaled nitric oxide
  • Walking and use of a stationary bike while on ventilator support
  • Bilevel
  • APRV
  • PAV
  • Oscillator
  • Evaluation of nutrition regimen on the respiratory system
  • Lung expansion therapy
  • Respiratory protective and therapeutic skin strategies to prevent injury from tape and respiratory equipment
  • Assistance with interventional pulmonology
  • Daily interruption of sedation
  • Daily readiness to extubate assessment
  • Percutaneous tracheostomy
  • Tracheostomy changes
  • Subglottic suctioning
  • Speech exercises
  • Urban Zen
  • Massage therapy
  • Psychosocial and spiritual support