what's it like to be a patient in ITU?

thread.

1/ it is like a sci-fi/horror movie right now. eerie silence at the best of times, punctuated by Darth Vader type breath sounds.

2/ apart from staff and patients, nobody is allowed in or out. no visitors, unless palliative.

3/ re Boris Johnson, pls keep in mind the added mental load on ITU staff. already short-staffed, nurses performing unfamiliar tasks, taking care of more patients at a time. every task will have an added twinge of anxiety.

4/ the patient will be sedated while on a ventilator.

5/ for a few reasons broadly related to oxygenation of the lungs, while on a ventilator for covid, we often recommend proning (patients are belly-down).

6/ average time for mechanical ventilation in covid patients: 10-14 days

7/ around 10 days of persistent illness with coronavirus, we're often seeing a sharp deterioration in patients.

it is very, very unpleasant to suffer from. one patient reported to me after leaving hospital: "it feels like suffocation"

check this typical chest x-ray picture:

8/ ventilators DO NOT treat underlying conditions or acute infections. we *hope* a ventilator might keep your lungs working long enough so that your own body will ride out the storm.

ITU will do everything they can to help you. but we're doctors, not magicians.

9/ please consider your own wishes if you were to be admitted into hospital. have conversations with your loved ones now - you don't want to leave them with tough decisions to make over the phone.

10/ coronavirus is indiscriminate and can kill anyone. please stay indoors.