Doris Boris, age 73, was admitted from CHS-Pineville. She was transferred to Carolinas ContinueCARE Hospital at Pineville with a primary diagnoses of acute hypoxic respiratory failure requiring ventilator support, aspiration pneumonia and acute encephalopathy.
Situation.
Ms. Boris resided at home with her spouse. She had a past medical history of HTN,
GERD and hyperlipidemia.
Ms. Boris was treated for septic shock which resulted in intubation. She was also
being treated for acute kidney injury and altered mental status. She had a trach and
peg placed and underwent three hemodialysis treatments.
She was transferred to us with primary diagnoses of acute hypoxic respiratory
failure requiring ventilator support, aspiration pneumonia and acute encephalopathy. Her mentation was very poor on admission. She wasn’t able to follow commands and did not attempt to communicate.
Solution.
While in our care, Ms. Boris was followed by internal medicine, pulmonary critical
care, ENT and infectious disease physicians. She was also cared for regularly by
physical, occupational and speech therapy, dietary and our wound care nurse practitioner.
Results.
During her 36-day stay with us, Ms. Boris was liberated from the ventilator and
decannulated. She completed a course of antibiotics for C. difficile. Her mentation slowly improved as she participated and progressed with rehab, aided by strong family support at the bedside. Due to her extended hospitalizations, it was recommended that Ms. Boris receive additional rehabilitation before returning home. She was discharged to sub-acute rehab.