A comparison study of the post anesthesia recovery score and pulse oximetry

Since the 1970s the Post Anesthesia Recovery Score (PARS), a numerical scoring of patient status in five areas, has been used in the PACU to assist in the assessment of patient condition by nurses. It has been used to give information to determine discharge criteria from the PACU. It is also used for the determination of patient need for oxygen therapy. Its reliability and validity have been tested. In the early 1980s pulse oximeters were developed to noninvasively monitor patients' oxygen saturation. Accuracy of the pulse oximeters has been tested against arterial blood gas findings. This instrument is also used to determine patient discharge status from the PACU and patient need for oxygen therapy. A group of 28 outpatients in the ambulatory surgery center were observed and monitored every 15 minutes with readings documented in the first postoperative hour after receiving local anesthesia with intravenous sedation. Using both the PARS and the pulse oximeter, scores were compared as indicators of subject need for oxygen therapy in the PACU. Included in the study group were twelve males and sixteen females aged 22 to 94 years. A pilot study, performed 1 week before the actual study, monitored six of these subjects. The data from the pilot study was not included in the actual study results. Subjects underwent a variety of same-day, elective surgical procedures. Since no previous standard of comparison for the PARS and pulse oximetry readings was found in the literature, a comparison table was developed. The data showed a 93% correlation of scores between the two instruments with only a 7% inconsistency.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)