Save of the Month! July 2015

Welcome to Save of the Month! where each month we recognize a resident who went above and beyond to make a great save in the ED. Nominations are solicited from the faculty each block and we pick one resident for recognition and embarrassment on this blog.

This month’s edition goes to . . . Dr. Brian Tu!

Here’s the story . . .

I wanted to talk about a great save in the ED. Brian Tu’s first patient of the day was a younger hypotensive peritoneal dialysis patient. After an hour in the ED, she declared herself as a very very sick GI bleed with a hemoglobin of 3. With her BP hovering around 70s/40s, she became altered and this time she was sure that she was going to die. Brian aggressively resuscitated her- not only by placing lines, giving fluids, ordering blood, but really advocating for what was best. This meant rouding up the troops (GI, MICU, blood bank attending, TXA, massive transfusion, etc).

After a few hairy minutes/hours, she turned the corner and finally her BP and mental status stabilized.

Brian really rocked. He quickly identified the problem, and got us working on a serious resuscitation. He really should be credited with saving this woman’s life.