A 15-year-old boy with a history of autism presents with fever and irritability. He is hospitalized and ultimately diagnosed with a right-sided pneumonia due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae. He is intubated in the pediatric intensive care unit for respiratory failure. Throughout his stay, he requires multiple sedating medications, including fentanyl, midazolam, dexmedetomidine, lorazepam, and haloperidol. On day 14 of admission, he is extubated to bilevel positive airway pressure but continues to require sedating medications to improve compliance and maintain his safety. AUTHOR DISCLOSURE Drs Westfall, Mullett, and Nield have disclosed no financial relationships relevant to this article. This commentary does not contain a discussion of an unapproved/investigative use of a commercial product/device.
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