Finally I have full access to Eclipsys, a program that will
allow me to access current and old patient data. I will be analyzing the
effects of different modes of ventilation on the recovery of burn patients
experiencing respiratory failure. So far, I’ve met with Dr. Bessey twice to
learn about the different parameters involved in ventilation and how they can
be modified in various types of respiratory illnesses. I have started looking
through the data taken from patients that are currently in the Burn ICU and
have tried to analyze their chest MRI images.
The
OR schedule for this week was quite light, involving mostly routine skin
grafts. So, with the help of one of the residents in the Burn ICU, I contacted
Dr. Pierre Gobin in the Interventional Neuro Radiology (INR) Department to
watch some of his procedures. He is famous for inventing the Concentric MERCI
Retreiver, which is a cork-screw shaped catheter used for removing blood clots
in stroke patients. These catheters are inserted into blood vessels via a
puncture created on the patient’s femoral artery. By merely twisting the
catheters, they can maneuver precisely to enter the Circle of Willis, an area
in the brain where most of aneurysms occur. I heard from one of the nurses working in his OR that he
carried out this procedure on Derek Fisher’s daughter. Initially, only three
routine angiographies were scheduled but an emergency case with an acute stroke
patient came in requiring special care. I thought I’d get to see Dr. Gobin
retrieve the clot from this patient but they decided after preliminary
angiography that it was too risky and was safer to leave the clot the way it was.
Two
unfortunate events took place this week in the Burn ICU. One patient with bad
ulcers and osteomyelitis due to complications from diabetes had to get his
lower leg amputated. He is still in critical condition with respiratory
failure. He was recently put on APRV and will be one of the patients I will be
studying for my research project. Another patient was a woman who experienced
bad burns on 20% of her body surface area. After experiencing shock and the
subsequent organ failures, she passed away.
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