My sister's husband has been in the ICU since late Friday afternoon. He was sick for a few days (maybe 3 or 4) prior, went to the doc on Fri. morn...they said he had pneumonia and gave him antibiotics. My sister got home from work late afternoon and found him very bad, struggling to breathe, took him to ER and they admitted him to ICU they said he was dehydrated, very low BP, etc. They told her that he was most likely septic.
Yesterday morning they put him on a vent and put in a central line and a swan ganz catheter. The doc told her he has ARDS.
My sister says his skin is yellow, and they have told her today that his kidneys are not functioning well and that he may need a blood transfusion. He has been heavily sedated since they put him on the vent. Yesterday my sister swears his BP was 80/16! Now today she says it is up to 85/40 or something close to that.
They said his blood cultures haven't grown anything but they are taking more samples.
He is only 29 years old! I can't understand how this could have happened so quickly. Have any of you ever had a pt like this and what was the outcome? What do you think the likelihood of him coming out of this is?
Sounds like your relative is a candidate for a drug called Xygris which is used to treat severe sepsis. i've used it and it does work. I hope all goes well.
Yes, unfortunately I have seen and taken care of young patients who went to the Dr. for cold symptoms only to end up with ARDS in a day, full pressure and ventilator support. One of my patients was only 19 yrs old. he didn't make it, the 34 yr. old did. I hope your BIL recovers quickly.
Nothing to add that the others haven't, but just wanted to let you know you are in my thoughts and prayers. Please let us know how he is doing....((()))
Yes, it can happen that fast. My 2 year old daughter was 17 months old and had to be hospitalized for 28 days and then had two more weeks of at home ABT, for an infectious cut she had gotten only 12 hours earlier. The infectious diseases dr told us if we had taken another 12 hours to get her to the er, we would have lost her.
God be with you and your family. You are in our prayers!
Unfortunately it can happen that fast. My dearest friend thought she had a bad cold. She was living in another town so I didn;t see her personally. Her husband woke in the middle of the night as he could hear her lungs gurggling. She was admitted to ICU, 6 hours later she was on a vent and in renal failure. 2 days later she was declared brain dead and taken of life support. she was 25 years old and left behind 4 very young children. I hope your husband fairs better insist on aggresive treatment. Your in my thoughts and my prayers
ERNurse752, RN
1,323 Posts
I've seen it happen this quickly and severely, and they were young as well...it was a long road, but they did recover.
Keep us updated, and I hope he starts to improve soon.