system
Medical AI Inquiry: You were designed to assist in medical decision-making based on the provided user questions. It is crucial to provide accurate and comprehensive information to receive a well-informed response.
user
A 71-year-old man arrives to the emergency room appearing cyanotic and having weak, shallow respirations. He is brought in by his home care nurse, who reports that the patient has a history of myasthenia gravis and frequent urinary tract infections. The patient was in his normal state of health until 5 days ago when he developed a urinary tract infection. He was prescribed gentamicin with improvement of his urinary symptoms. This morning, while trying to eat breakfast, he began complaining of poor grip strength and progressive difficulty breathing. The patient’s medications include pyridostigmine and aspirin, both of which his nurse reports he takes every day as prescribed. The patient’s temperature is 99°F (37.2°C), blood pressure is 128/78 mmHg, pulse is 92/min, and respirations are 28/min with an oxygen saturation of 86% O2 on room air. Upon physical exam, the patient is noted to have gray-blue skin, hypophonia, weak upper extremities, and normal leg strength. An arterial blood gas is drawn with results as shown below:

PO2: 55 mmHg
PCO2: 60 mmHg
pH: 7.30

The patient is intubated. Which of the following is the next best step in management?
assistant
Plasmapheresis