A 20-year-old pregnant woman develops a urinary tract infection with positive blood cultures. She is admitted to the ICU with a blood pressure of 88/5 2 mm Hg, which has persisted despite fluid challenge. Her condition deteriorates as she develops increasing respiratory distress.
She appears to be developing adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and is intubated for mechanical ventilation. The resident staff inserts a right heart catheter to measure pulmonary vascular pressure.