what& #39;s it like to be a patient in ITU? https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤔" title="Thinking face" aria-label="Emoji: Thinking face">

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& #39;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& #39;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& #39;t want to leave them with tough decisions to make over the phone.

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