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Is Postanesthesia Care Unit Length of Stay: Increased in Hypothermic Patients?
Author(s) -
Panagiotis Kiekkas,
Maria Poulopoulou,
Argiri Papahatzi,
Panagiotis Souleles
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
aorn journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1878-0369
pISSN - 0001-2092
DOI - 10.1016/s0001-2092(06)60420-1
Subject(s) - pacu , medicine , post anesthesia care unit , anesthesia , hypothermia , emergency medicine
• INADVERTENT HYPOTHERMIA is one of the most common complications experienced by surgical patients who are transferred to the postanesthesia care unit (PACU). • APPROPRIATE PACU LENGTH OF STAY (LOS) is defined as the time required for a patient to achieve a physiologically stable condition after anesthesia administration. In studies measuring appropriate LOS, patients who arrived hypothermic in the PACU had longer stays than those who arrived normothermic. • THE AIMS OF THIS STUDY were to determine whether the actual and appropriate LOS in the PACU differs between hypothermic and normothermic patients and to identify differences between subgroups of patients according to age, gender, and type of anesthesia administered.AORN J 81 (February 2005) 379–392.