swine flu--is anyone concerned?

[Shishkabob]

Yea when the nurse said he had a Pa02 in the 30s my first thought was "Did she say that right?"

They had him tubed and on a ventilator (obviously). They said it was ARDS complicated/caused(dont remember which one) by H1N1




Also got to see my first person on BiPAP today.

 

[VentMedic]

Yea when the nurse said he had a Pa02 in the 30s my first thought was "Did she say that right?"

They had him tubed and on a ventilator (obviously). They said it was ARDS complicated/caused(dont remember which one) by H1N1

Also got to see my first person on BiPAP today.

If the patient is at a progressive hospital, there is a good chance he will be on a high frequency ventilator (HFOV). If you get the opportunity to followup, the HFOV is even more awesome to see in action than a BiPAP machine. It will be oscillating the breaths given to the patient at around 180 to 420 times per minute.

ARDS is a complication of H1N1 or now known as Flu Associated Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

 

[Foxbat]

Think about it a little bit unless you are just trying to be funny about something that is serious.

The same infection control principles apply for many types of bacteria and viruses, not just the Swine flu, when using these devices.

Are you talking about somehow filtering the air pt. exhales when he breathes through CPAP/autovent/NRB?
(And no, I don't think it's funny).

 

[VentMedic]

Are you talking about somehow filtering the air pt. exhales when he breathes through CPAP/autovent/NRB?
(And no, I don't think it's funny).

It is the expired air that will be distributed t/o the ambulance and the ED to anyone nearby and that is the concern with the higher flow of gas. Unless the CPAP device is a closed system, it is difficult to filter. Right now the only closed system that provides CPAP is through the ventilators and that is usually not the simple portable single limb ones.

The U.S. government has initially started stock piling CPAP devices for just this type of emergency but then had to back pedal after the SARS outbreak to which O2 devices were blamed for some of the spread.

If these devices are used on a suspected flu patient, everyone near should have an N95 mask and the ED should be forewarned to have an isolation bed ready or their staff protected and bystanders/patients out of the way of the exhalation particles.

Don't forget to put a filter between the ETT and BVM for intubated patients when various diseases are suspectd such as the flu, meningitis and TB.

 

[FF2EMT]

Its all one big joke if you ask me people just need to suck it up

 

[sbp7993]

I am not worried about it at all. The regular seasonal flu is a more important thing to be worried about. I had it a while ago, and it wasn't fun.

 

[Simusid]

Its all one big joke if you ask me people just need to suck it up

Disagree completely. Yes people die every year from the seasonal flu, that is a fact and a reality. Maybe I'm just a little hypersensitive because a co-workers daughter died today of H1N1, and a 12 year old girl in a neighboring town died last week.

I take it as a given that there are people trained extensively in this field and they are telling me that this is important and different.

Don't you hate it when you get a patient refusal from an MVA when your extensive training and experience tells you that there is a real possibility that they need medical attention?