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?
Because people go ballistic when they find a $65 line item for a bag of ice on the hospital bill?
More important though is the monitoring of the ETCO2 (the exhaled Carbon Dioxide.) All trauma patients will have their End Tidal monitored, it is a critical function which I presume most people are unfamiliar with.
Funny about the ice question. For years we used to draw Arterial blood for testing Ph and CO2 levels.This was to determine if the patient was acidotic or alkalotic. A Ph between 7.35-7.45 is considered ‘normal.’ Outside of that range typically interventions are required. The blood get about 5 things measured (actually more, but we don’t ordinarily look at all of them.)
Once the blood was obtained it was immediately placed in ice in case of any delay in getting the results ensued. We had the practice of getting analysis within 30 minutes or get a newer sample. Sometime in the last decade or so, they ended the ice policy. I always felt funny about that, did not seem right. So, I rarely needed ice.
Still, in my hospital(s) I always knew where the ice machines were. Most facilities have a ton of them. Best I can figure is that there was a fluid restriction involved. If the Docs order say 500 CCs per day, you are not going to get 501, period. Ice is of course additional fluid.
I don’t trust anesthesia. You are turned OFF. The YOU of you is gone for a while. You are NOT asleep. It’s not the same thing.