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payoff. Both assumptions, in my estimation, are inaccurate.
At the end of 2013, our organization started down the road toward making
continuous capnography the standard of care for all adult and pediatric patients
before, during and after procedural sedation or surgical procedures. We chose
this route because continuous capnography is the earliest possible warning sys-
tem for detecting the onset of opioid-induced respiratory depression (see "Spot
the First Signs of Respiratory Compromise").
Ultimately, after trialing continuous capnography in our surgery units, PACU,
interventional radiology, electrophysiology lab and emergency trauma center,
we decided to expand its use to include non-invasive monitoring. Our current
policy is to use capnography monitoring for all adult and pediatric vented and
non-vented patients during the administration of anesthesia and recovery.
OSM
Ms. Lange (langep@centracare.com) is the
director of the respiratory care department at
St. Cloud (Minn.) Hospital.