Vital Signs Part 2 - Pulse Ox and Oxygen Saturation
- Six Echo -
Vital signs are the diagnostic tools we use to assess a patient, determine the severity of an injury or disease process and also to track and trend a patients status to know if the treatments we are providing are working or not.
The vital sign we look at in the video is Pulse Oxygen Saturation or O2 sats (NOT stats). We use a pulse ox to measure the Sp02 in the blood at a point like the finger, toe or earlobe. This is reading tells us the percentage of red blood cells that are actually carrying oxygen around like they are supposed to. If we are getting and accurate reading and the percentage is low, then we need to start treatments based on the rest of our assessment.
Remember that just like all electronics and tools, the pulse oximeter can fail or give false data. Knowing the failure points of these tools and knowing HOW and WHEN to actually use these tools is a big part of being a good clinician or care provider. Remember to treat the PATIENT and not the MONITOR. If your patient is struggling to breathe but your monitor or diagnostic tools reads normal, you need to ignore the tool for a minute and treat the patient based on how they are presenting.
Have you used a pulse ox before? Have you based your treatment off of them? Have you had issues with the oximeters in the past? Leave us a comment and let us know!
SIX ECHO SYSTEMS
sixechosystems.com
