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That's the normal procedure, as far as I know. Taking a pulse ox reading is done at the same time as we'd get blood pressure, listen to breath sounds and watch
by PascLeRasc 6y ago
That's the normal procedure, as far as I know. Taking a pulse ox reading is done at the same time as we'd get blood pressure, listen to breath sounds and watch chest expansion depth/rate, and talk to the patient about how they're feeling or what's wrong. It's just one factor that could tell us that they're short of breath and we should provide oxygen, but it's important to consider the patient as a whole. They like to say "treat the patient, not the data".
- adrianmonk 6y agoThanks. So in a case where you cannot rely on it, do you completely avoid using the pulse oximeter at all? Or do you use it but place less faith in the readings and interpret the readings differently?
- PascLeRasc 6y agoSince I'm just a student I think it's best if I defer to the textbook: "If your service has a pulse oximeter, you should have a protocol describing when to use it. Generally this will include all patients complaining of respiratory problems or otherwise at risk for hypoxia. When used properly, the device can help you to assess the effectiveness of artificial respirations, oxygen therapy, and bronchodilator (inhaler) therapy."