Times sure have changed Doc.
Before there were PulseOx devices, in the field we would bag the pt based on appearances.
Cyanotic, chest movement, accessory muscles being used.
And of course the possible reason for the pt DIB in the first place.
If they went into respiratory arrest, we’d intubate.
Love that Mac Blade.
Then when those fancy PulseOx meters came out……..I still had a hard time counting on them and still based my actions on the pt’s signs and symptoms. LOL
Of course as time went by I got use to a PulseOx Meter and trusted it more and more.
Our protocols for intubation was an SP O2 of 89 or lower.
I was working with a fill-in medic when my partner was on vacation and this fill-in guy was almost done with his P.A. program and doing clinical time at the hospital we were going to take our pt. to.
Pt. had an SP O2 at 85, still consensus and this P.A. wanted to crash the Pt. with Morphine so we can intubate her……..so I agreed. (Yikes!!)
Anyway, dosed her with 8mg IVP, then 2mg more…….it worked. Whew!
Meanwhile I’m standing by with Narcan holding her I.V. Port ready to push! LOL
I sure do miss it.
Ah the good old days. It’s funny you and I both can take one look at someone and it is as clear as a bell if they need a tube.
It’s funny you mention cyanosis and use. One of my all time favorite professors was fond of saying if the lips are blue, the brain is, too. Funny. That always stuck with me.
“Our protocols for intubation was an SP O2 of 89 or lower.”
A buddy of mine caught covid around Christmas 2020. He was at home until the first week January, I spoke with him briefly by phone. His O2 fell into the 70s before they hospitalized and ventilated him. Sedated. He picked up pneumonia. Kidneys went AKI. They attempted dialysis but his BP would go out of control. He died maybe a couple of days later. Several other members of his family were infected at the same time, three others died. His wife had a moderate case, still has impaired sense of taste and smell.