>        Ok, here we go....I am a newby in this field, but I've seen 
something 
>        On almost every occasion I've been present with a patient presenting 
w
>        One question I have is this: How accurate is the pulse-oximeter at 
gua
>        One reason I ask is because I was taught that if a patient had or 
clai
>        Anyway, I hope someone can scratch this itch for me. Thanks!
>
>
>--- Maximus 3.01
1:3621/17)
>
First point to remember:  Treat the Patient, not the machine.
A pulse  oximeter is only part of the picture, not a difinitive diagnosis.
Although accurate enough for government work ( measure it with a micrometer,
mark it with chalk, cut it with an axe ),  it doesnt take into account the
Patients ( Pt ) condition.  Some people live and work with O2 sats of 90% and
feel fine, others get dizzy or sob around 95...  Experince will teach you
to pick and choose which info is important to you and your Pt.
Also consider if the patient is exchanging well enough.  His O2 sat. may be
WNL, his color maybe good,  but because of a metabolic problem, the Pt is
acidotic, and producing much more CO2 that he can blow off,  A pulse ox 
machine
may give a good reading for a while, but soon the Pt will tire or the 
acidosis,
maynot correct, and the pt will crash.
Second point to remember:  distance yourself from those morons, the obviously
                           were never newbies or forgotten where they 
arted.
Timmmer
--- WWIVGate 1.12b
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