Semi-Automatic Digital BP Unit

[scribble]

Question: Has anybody ever tried attaching a pulse ox to a houseplant or other non-human-ear-or-fingertip object?

[757emtp]

Can't say I have, though they do tend to kick out some fun readings when not attached to a person. According to several of the LP12's I used, the pouch where the probe is stored has a SpO2 in the mid-80s. Who knew?

It just occurred to me that you may have meant your question to be rhetorical. If that's the case, please ignore my post. Nothing to see here, folks!

[scribble]

No, I'm interested to know. Sometimes facitlite will use the SpO2 reading as an excuse to either not give the patient O2 or prematurely discharge them. I'd like to see what happens if I show them that the ficus in the corner has good O2 sats, too.

[sweet_melinda]

you get a good asystole if you atatch the leads to the oxygen cylinder....not that I would know....not that I've had to create an asystole strip.....

[757emtp]

Nice! I like your style. I imagine the outcome of your demonstration would be a few blank looks on the faces of the folks you're attempting to educate, but it's definitely worth a shot, if for no other reason than to be a jackass. I mean... umm... to attempt to foster greater understanding of the use of pulse-ox readings as a tool in the assessment continuum rather than depending on it to render the sole bit of information used in making a clinical decision.

Melinda- I think everyone has been faced with something like that before. I used to have a set of assorted "throw down" strips, just in case...

[anthonyt]

Nice! I like your style. I imagine the outcome of your demonstration would be a few blank looks on the faces of the folks you're attempting to educate, but it's definitely worth a shot, if for no other reason than to be a jackass. I mean... umm... to attempt to foster greater understanding of the use of pulse-ox readings as a tool in the assessment continuum rather than depending on it to render the sole bit of information used in making a clinical decision.

Melinda- I think everyone has been faced with something like that before. I used to have a set of assorted "throw down" strips, just in case...

Really? Throw down strips? Disappointing. If you do your job, and don't lie about patient presentations, then you won't have to worry about things like that. In the 11 years that I have been working in this field, I have never seen a patient where using a false strip would've been appropriate.

What you are suggesting is unethical, immoral, and illegal. I would certainly hope that you are joking.

So far as auto vs manual. Both have their place, and if used appropriately NIBP can be a useful tool. But only after taking a manual baseline. If your patients presentation changes, it's time for another manual pressure, but as long as they are in no distress, good tone and color, then after a manual BP, NIBP, I think, is acceptable.

[Medic_QT]

Can't say I have, though they do tend to kick out some fun readings when not attached to a person. According to several of the LP12's I used, the pouch where the probe is stored has a SpO2 in the mid-80s. Who knew?

My bench seat was at 76% last night. But no, I haven't, and now I really wanna try it. Too bad I can't be all sneaky and do it, cuz I'd have to tote the entire LP into the station, and something tells me that if someone heard BEEEEEEEP of it turning on, they might come find me trying to get an SpO2 on a houseplant. I'd guess it wouldn't work though, because you don't get a waveform to read.

I think everyone has been faced with something like that before. I used to have a set of assorted "throw down" strips, just in case...

Wow. I have been faced with something like that before-- Then I printed a code summary. How can you have "throwdown strips" if they say what truck, the time, and the date on the strip?? I have never heard of anyone doing that before.. The only collection of strips I have are of unusual rhythms that can be used for teaching, or for nostalgic purposes [i.e. my first arrest, the first time I out-diagnosed my Lt and I could say ha ha toldya so (but didn't)]

[FF/EMTP1317]

Melinda- I think everyone has been faced with something like that before. I used to have a set of assorted "throw down" strips, just in case...

That's not cool. If you feel the need to lie about your pt's strip than you probably shouldn't be treating pts at all. Even if you forget to print a code summary, that's what the "archives" option is for on the LP12 and I would think other brands would have this option as well. It's one thing to keep odd strips for educational or "look at the cool strip I had today" purposes but it's an entirely different thing to use them to falsify your reports.

[sweet_melinda]

to explain, for whatever reason we couldn't find the code summary on the montior. The pt. was a very obvious DOA, like down for a week at least. I'm still required to get a strip for the paperwork. I lost the one that I had gotten. The time and date and everything on our montior are never set right so it doesn't matter what times are listed on the strip, since they're never the right ones. I would never fake a strip on an actual code, but since it was obviously a DOA as long as I had a strip that was asystole it didn't matter.

[FF/EMTP1317]

to explain, for whatever reason we couldn't find the code summary on the montior. The pt. was a very obvious DOA, like down for a week at least. I'm still required to get a strip for the paperwork. I lost the one that I had gotten. The time and date and everything on our montior are never set right so it doesn't matter what times are listed on the strip, since they're never the right ones. I would never fake a strip on an actual code, but since it was obviously a DOA as long as I had a strip that was asystole it didn't matter.

I can see that a little more than just keeping some on hand for when you need them.