Also known as: Brain attack
Joe initially presents with sudden onset aphasia and arm weakness while on a fishing boat, suspected to be having a stroke. However, CT scan is negative and symptoms continue to worsen with descending paralysis.
Also known as: GBS
Post-viral Guillain-Barré syndrome is suspected as Joe's diagnosis when his symptoms include descending paralysis, arm weakness, respiratory failure, and bradycardia following a flu-like illness a month prior.
Also known as: Botulism poisoning
Joe's actual diagnosis is botulism from bacteria growing in his chamomile tea thermos. The toxin causes descending paralysis, back pain, ocular ptosis, aphasia, respiratory failure, arm weakness, and bradycardia.
Also known as: Heart attack
Carla, a symphony oboist, suffers a heart attack during a concert and has recurrent waves of chest pain. She develops atrial fibrillation and later life-threatening hypotension requiring an intra-aortic balloon pump.
Also known as: A-fib
Carla develops atrial fibrillation following her heart attack, requiring treatment with diltiazem drip to control the irregular heart rhythm.
Also known as: V-tach
Carla develops ventricular tachycardia and pulseless VT requiring defibrillation and resuscitation in the understaffed ICU.
A patient's seat belt dislocated his clavicle, pushing it into the shoulder and blocking the brachial artery, which irritates the left atrium and causes ventricular tachycardia. Successfully reduced with manual manipulation.
Also known as: Ruptured spleen
A rock climber presents with a ruptured spleen after falling 60 feet during a climbing accident. Patient is worried about their climbing partner who fell further.
Also known as: Blood cancer
A leukemic patient in the ICU develops fever, requiring evaluation during the staffing crisis.
Also known as: Ruptured triple-A
A patient with an abdominal aortic aneurysm about to rupture requires urgent management with leg swelling and bleeding during the ICU crisis.
Also known as: Lung infection
A pneumonia patient transferred from the ED is on BiPAP and heading toward intubation during the ICU staffing shortage.
Also known as: GI bleed
A patient transferred from the seventh floor with GI bleed, tachycardia, and hypotension during the ICU crisis.
Also known as: Compulsive stealing
Kevin is a psychiatric patient being treated for kleptomania in a residency training simulation. His case is used to teach residents about therapeutic interviewing, empathy, and transference, with exploration of his relationship with withholding parents.
Dr. Fuentes mentions her younger brother Adam has paranoid schizophrenia and has been in and out of facilities most of his life, but is now living with her since the pandemic, which is her reason for declining the medical director position.
Two ICU attendings are down with food poisoning, creating the staffing crisis that drives the episode's main conflict as the ICU operates with no dedicated physicians.