A Very MICU Christmas

MICU stands for Medical Intensive Care Unit.

In our hospital, the second-year residents go on duty every three days at this section -- the last bastion for medical management in the critically ill.

Due to certain unexpected leaves, absences, resignations, and a lot of crazy, gaah, I don't even have a word for it, I found myself answering the phone at around 7 am to a directive to go on duty for 36 hours at the ICU.

A day after Christmas.

Not exactly my idea of the perfect Christmas gift, but here I was, standing in the doorway of a full ICU with a lot of critical patients.

MICU 1: Really bad case of Pneumonia and Pneumothorax in septic shock. Her X-rays showed really bad lungs that I could see the fissures (Normally it'd be dark and black).

MICU 2: A case of sepsis (really bad infection) due to an infection of the urinary tract and pneumonia coupled with hyponatremia (really low body sodium)

MICU 3: Admitted a case of non ST elevation MI. Glad to see her not in pain, and in pretty good spirits

MICU 4: A renal patient with weird breathing. Congested X-rays and treated with aspiration pneumonia as well.

MICU 5: Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy + Seizure disorder and underwent tracheostomy earlier in the day.

MICU 6: Dilated cardiomyopathy probably due to doxorubicin cardiotoxicity after undergoing chemotherapy for Hodgkin's lymphoma and with weird drainage coming out of her nasogastric tube.

MICU 7: A massive right middle cerebral artery infarct and underwent decompression with a right frontal craniectomy. Glad to see him responsive and doing actually quite well post-op.

MICU 8: Cholelithiasis with cholecystitis who underwent open cholecystectomy coupled with bilateral pleural effusions secondary to hospital-acquired pneumonia.

MICU 9: Myasthenia gravis in crisis

MICU 10: Cardiac dysrrhythmia, non-sustained ventricular tachycardia. (I hate arrhythmias)

TELEMETRY 1: Severe infection due to UTI and pneumonia

TELEMETRY 2: Another case of a non ST elevation MI.

These are the cases I greeted at the outset of my skeletal duty at the ICU. My first ever.

I transferred out 6 patients, but sadly lost one to overwhelming infection and its complications.

All in all, I survived.

I'll enjoy these last few days where I don't have to go on duty at the Intensive Care Unit because in all probability, I'll be doing it regularly starting next month.

Surviving that will be another achievement worth blogging about.

Gulp, pray I don't mess up.