Why is it bad?

Patients will be bed-bound, unconscious (can’t communicate or eat/drink) on strong sedative medications, and are dependent on others for daily tasks (feeding, bathing, toileting, etc). There are also some risks of damage to the vocal cords from the tube going in the throat. For patients who have permanent conditions affecting the lungs that are not expected to improve or for older patients with other permanent conditions, it is possible that a patient may never be able to come off the breathing machine. And for some of older or more frail patients who do come off the breathing machine, the critically ill period in the ICU, on sedative medications, and on a breathing machine, often permanently reduces a patient's baseline functional ability, so these patients might not have the same quality of life that they did before. These patients may require stays in rehabilitation facilities after the hospital to try to return to a similar level of independence or mobility, but it is possible that they may never regain this.