Sao2 monitoring in the postanesthesia care unit

Airway management is a primary concern of the PACU nurse. Respiratory changes can occur with the administration of preoperative medication and continue through the postoperative phase. One of the most obvious changes is hypoxemia. The introduction of pulse oximetry provided an objective way of determining the patient's respiratory status; the consistent use of the pulse oximeter led to the present descriptive study. As a result of this study, anesthesiologists at the investigators' institution have established protocols for weaning oxygen in the PACU: Patients exhibiting arterial oxygen saturations less than 92% are given supplemental oxygen for 24 hours postoperatively.