Heck, when I was working in Chronic Care, which I did for years, it was common to see orders ‘Maintain Sat 88-92.’
Anything below 88, I freak. I once had a Patient with a Sat of about 78%. That was a long time ago. She was middle aged (50s) and was born with Tetralogy of Fallot. Her mother read me the Riot Act when I went in, saw the numbers and headed toward that flow meter.
I learned something on that day.
While it’s been a long time since I stayed in a Holiday Inn I do have some experience bringing folks back from injury/surgery/anesthesia and I’ve always found supplemental O2 really helps the process. Especially recovery from anesthesia. I finally got at least a couple of Quacks to admit that anesthesia can do permanent degradation to mental stuff. And yeah SPO2 can go well below 92 without any harm it’s just that every ER/recovery room I’ve been in has the beeper set at 92. When my own family members wind up in a hospital I always, now, whine and bitzh to make sure supplemental oxy is available. They might figger I’m a bigger problem than the patient but they never argue with me——just turn it on. Command presence might also be a factor?
Another question but why the bleep is it so hard to find ICE in a hospital? As an old jock/Marine/industrial guy Ice is the first think I go for when I take a hit but down at Quackville it seems to be the last thing they want to use. But I find it minimizes bruising, frequently eliminates shock, certainly cuts swelling from stitches, etc. even helps stop bleeding. Too close to witchcraft? Huge mystery to me anyway?