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CPAP & Hospital Use

Posted by SleepyTimeGal on September 07, 2004 at 10:42:46:

Had some discussion over the weekend with my sister who is a nurse in a large metropolitan hospital. She said they had one apnea patient die after leaving recovery and being back on the floor with less monitoring. She did not know the full circumstances, but did not think the patient was using CPAP at the time.

Since then, hospital staff has been very rigorous about CPAP use while patients tend to be somewhat cavalier (and I must confess I am one with a cavalier attitude) despite doctor's orders. One patient's admission orders clearly stated that he was supposed to bring his CPAP with him for admission. When he did not, the anesthesiologist was called, who promptly sent the wife home for the CPAP, saying hospitals do not necessarily keep CPAPs on hand and even if they did, they could not be sure the CPAP was being set properly for that particular patient. It was less hassle all the way around for the patient to bring his/her personal equipment.

I myself had outpatient surgery last week; I was pretty wakeful in recovery and while I had my CPAP, I wasn't using it, breathing was difficult and uncomfortable. The problem was resolved by raising me to a semi-sitting position. I now realize I should have been more pro-active about CPAP rather than relying on hospital staff to know what was best for me.

Just thought I'd let everyone know.

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