Prone ventilation in a pregnant patient with scrub typhus-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome

Abstract

A 23-year-old primigravida at 20 weeks of gestation presented to our hospital with undifferentiated febrile illness and severe acute respiratory distress syndrome. She was intubated in the emergency department and transferred to the intensive care unit. Initial treatment included ventilatory care, vasopressor support and broad-spectrum antibiotics. Based on a positive PCR assay for scrub typhus, she was treated with intravenous doxycycline and azithromycin. Despite reduction in fever, her oxygenation further declined. Following a risk–benefits assessment, we decided to ventilate her in prone position for 8\u2009hours a day for three consecutive days using a checklist-based protocol. Her oxygenation indices and lung compliance markedly improved over this period, and she was extubated a day later. She was eventually discharged home after 1\u2009week.