Pacu Journal of Nursing
Capnography: A Missed Vital Sign in Post Anesthesia Care Units
Tags: anesthesia nurse opiods PACU
Capnography provides essential data on how well a patient is ventilating regardless of what the oxygen saturation monitor is reading. This is an under-utilized tool that can detect adverse respiratory events such as hypoventilation leading to hypoxia. Capnography is a non-invasive nasal cannula that sits just below the nose and captures end-tidal carbon dioxide. Nurses should make it a standard of practice to implement capnography for all patients who arrive into the PACU.
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A Husband's Difficult Decision
Tags: bedside reporting end of life family Family Presence PACU sepsis
A husband's difficult decision regarding his critically ill wife and DNR status
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A Review of the Treatment for Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting
Tags: anesthesia health care professionals nausea PACU post-op risk factors treatment options vomiting
Common treatments reviewed for the treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting, mostly in the PACU phase of care.
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Recovering from Tragedy and Surgery
Tags: PACU support surgery tragedy
A story of a patient recovering from surgery and a tragic event.
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Medical Equipment
Tags: equipment oxygen PACU Post Anesthesia Care Unit T&R Transport and Relief
This article is about receiving a patient postop who required oxygen. The respiratory therapist had disconnected the oxygen and placed onto the beside portable O2 tank to administer a nebulizer treatment. After nebulizer treatment was completed the oxygen was not moved back to the wall and tank went empty. The patients oxygen dropped.
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Young and Healthy in the PACU
Tags: anesthesia Healthy PACU
Some patients in the post anesthesia care unit (PACU) are young and or very healthy. These qualities sometimes give the impression that there will not be complications from surgery or anesthesia. This is not always the case. These patients may be overlooked for experiencing complications because they are healthy. I have seen a number of patients who have no health problems experience side effects from anesthesia and surgery.
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When "Old Dogs" go Back to School
Tags: Bachelor's degree education family nursing leadership PACU stress
I went back to college at the age of 62. Being an "old dog", I was not computer savvy, so taking classes mostly on-line was quite challenging. I believe that my trials and triumphs evidenced in this article, will encourage nurses, especially older nurses, to go back to school for their BSN.
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Patients First
Tags: communication PACU patients
A brief article about a patient that inspired me.
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Medication Induced Bradycardia
Tags: anesthesia bradycardia labetolol medicine PACU pain
In medicine there is never a playbook about how things are going to unfold and this is especially true when it comes to recovering from surgery and anesthesia. For example, sometimes as nurses we give medications to treat one symptom and unintentionally cause another.
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Not Just Another Day
Tags: car accident death emergency room ER multiple injuries PACU saying goodbye
Brief story about helping someone say goodbye and knowing their loved one was cared for.
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A Difficult Patient
Tags: challenges difficult patient PACU
Article about managing a difficult patient in the PACU setting. In my nursing career, there are many different types of challenges. Job challenges, schedule challenges and patient related challenges. No matter what type of nursing I have encountered there are always difficult patients that test my nursing skills. Whether the demands are related to technical skill, assessment or cultural understanding, I enjoy that critical thinking that is required to rise to the occasion. As a seasoned nurse I feel that technical challenges have become easier to handle, while the social or cultural challenges have my increased interest. I continue to obtain as much education as I can to assist my nursing challenges.
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Receiving another patient helped save my other patient...
Tags: elderly experiences nursing nursing experiences PACU
I started my day in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU). I work the 7a-7p shift. It was just another routine day. I received an 84yr old female patient Mrs. R from the Main Operating Room (OR) who had undergone a Left Shoulder Replacement. Mrs. R received an interscalene block for pain in the OR and had general anesthesia. Since she was elderly and was not having good tidal volumes at the end of the case anesthesia decided to keep her on the ventilator a bit longer until she woke up more...
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There Are No Simple Cases
Tags: body case Code Blue nurse outcome PACU recovery simple study temperature
As a twenty year experienced recovery room nurse, I know that no case is ever the same. People are individuals. They react differently to medications. They metabolize drugs at different rates depending on age, body mass, body temperature, kidney and liver functions. Although everyone is different, I can basically expect a certain outcome in recovering people. But in saying this, you can always expect the unexpected.
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