Four hours later, the tocilizumab infusion finished. Maya ordered the 6-hour ABG.
“Tocilizumab calmed the storm,” Maya said, writing antibiotics orders. “But it also let her body feel well enough to breathe hard against the vent. Without that second ABG, we’d have missed the VAP until she crashed.”
But Maya stared at the chart. “Look at the PaCO₂. 38. That’s low for a paralyzed patient. She’s breathing over the vent.”
Jake smiled. “It worked.”
Dr. Maya Shah, the senior fellow, rubbed her eyes and walked toward the nursing station. The chart on Bed 4 read: Female, 34, severe COVID-19 pneumonia, day 12 . Two words were underlined in red: clinical deterioration .
Four hours later, the tocilizumab infusion finished. Maya ordered the 6-hour ABG.
“Tocilizumab calmed the storm,” Maya said, writing antibiotics orders. “But it also let her body feel well enough to breathe hard against the vent. Without that second ABG, we’d have missed the VAP until she crashed.”
But Maya stared at the chart. “Look at the PaCO₂. 38. That’s low for a paralyzed patient. She’s breathing over the vent.”
Jake smiled. “It worked.”
Dr. Maya Shah, the senior fellow, rubbed her eyes and walked toward the nursing station. The chart on Bed 4 read: Female, 34, severe COVID-19 pneumonia, day 12 . Two words were underlined in red: clinical deterioration .