Can any medical professionals help?

[user2233]

Hi,

Posting on this board for traffic

My dad hasn't been feeling well. He's had a really bad cough where he has coughing fits and gets out of breath and struggles to breathe. He got taken to A&E last night after struggling to breathe.

Just as some background: My dad has had two heart attacks and a stroke. He's diabetic and usually has high BP.

The staff at A&E have stated that they believe he has an infection based on his x ray reports. They're giving him IV fluids and antibiotics via IV to help.

My concern is that he is VERY confused. Extremely confused. He can't really answer a question properly or go to the toilet himself. He's also got low BP which isn't going up even though they've been trying to give medication to increase his BP.

His face also seems swollen.

My question is, is the confusion and low BP normal for an infection? He's 65. They've done a CT scan to rule out another stroke. However, the confusion and consistently low BP when he's usually being prescribed medication for high BP is making me wonder if they've missed something?

TIA for any responses.

Yes confusion and hypotension are common with severe chest infection aka pneumonia aka lower respiratory tract infection

@olympicsrock could this be the cause of his swollen face? Again, no proper answers from the hospital

His swollen face could potentially be a little bit of fluid overload given that they've been giving him IV fluids and his heart history. It's a very difficult thing to strike the right balance with though, especially when someone has very low blood pressure.

I think I would be flagging sepsis, potential UTI & chest infection.

Just an update, they're now suspecting Sepsis. I spoke to the nurse this morning, she mentioned that his other numbers are all normal, his BP has increased ever so slightly and he's being treated to further increase it as it's still on the lower side.

The nurse said he's in a better condition than most people in ICU and the only reason he's there is due to the low BP. They're going to get the septic team to see what else needs to be done. Just feel really upset as I feel helpless. Mum has now been taken to hospital via ambulance too as she keeps fainting 😢 I don't know what to do being so far with a newborn