Behind the Medic: Breath of life
There’s something nearly-magical in taking a panting sweating pale speechless asthmatic with a pulse-ox of 41% (WHAT?!) — pouring some albuterol, steroids, oxygen, and antibiotics into his body — and 2 hours later seeing a rosy-cheeked human-being walk out of your urgent care, smiling and able to breathe and talk once more.
That’s no fair! Last night I gave my asthmatic steroids, albuterol, atrovent, oxygen, antibiotics, mag sulfate, sub-Q terbutiline, and started a terbutaline drip and barely got him to the PICU. your asthmatic was better than mine ;-)
