LogFAQs > #964426813

A hospital floor can't permanently be a COVID ICU, but the ones I worked in basically were since March of 2020. Most patients were older men (50+) that just simply couldn't breathe. After a day or two of trying to put them on BiPAP or Airvo (heated high flow nasal cannula), they would still start to get hypoxic and confused, ripping off their oxygen, trying to stand up and leave saying there's things in the room when there weren't, they NEED water, then eventually trying to throw punches (sometimes succeeding) until intubation was necessary.

Once intubated they were usually very difficult to keep sedated with fentanyl, versed, ketamine, propofol, the works, so they would have be put on a chemical Paralytic so they would stop overbreathing the vent and let it do the work for them. You have to monitor their brainwave form using a BIS monitor to make sure they weren't conscious. It's a terrible fate to have every muscle paralyzed and be aware of it but unable to do anything about it, they need to be VERY sedated.