All Topics  
Post anesthesia care unit

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Post anesthesia care unit
 
 
  Topics Post anesthesia care unit Topic Home

"PACU" redirects here. For the fish, see Pacu (fish)
Pacu (fish)

Pacu is a common name used to refer to several species of South American freshwater fish that are related to the piranha, which are also kept as pets in aquaria....
.


A post anesthesia care unit, often abbreviated PACU, is a vital part of hospital
Hospital

A hospital is an institution for health care providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment, and often but not always providing for longer-term patient stays....
s, ambulatory care
Ambulatory care

Ambulatory care is any medicine care delivered on an outpatient basis. Many medical conditions do not require hospital admission and can be managed without admission to a hospital....
 centers, and other medical facilities. It is an area, normally attached to operating theatre suites, designed to provide care for patients recovering from anesthesia
Anesthesia

Anesthesia, or anaesthesia , has traditionally meant the condition of having sensation blocked or temporarily taken away. This allows patients to undergo surgery and other procedures without the distress and pain they would otherwise experience....
, whether it be general anaesthesia
General anaesthesia

In modern medical practice, general anaesthesia is a state of total unconsciousness resulting from general anaesthetic drugs. A variety of drugs are given to the patient that have different effects with the overall aim of ensuring unconsciousness, amnesia and analgesia....
, regional anaesthesia
Regional anaesthesia

Regional anaesthesia, is anesthesia affecting only a large part of the body, such as a limb. Regional anaesthetic techniques can be divided into central and peripheral techniques....
, or local anesthesia
Local anesthesia

Local anesthesia is any technique to render part of the body insensitive to pain without affecting consciousness. It allows patients to undergo surgical and dentistry procedures with reduced pain and distress....
.

Common activities
The PACU staff, generally composed of highly trained nurse
Nurse

A nurse is a healthcare professional, who along with other health care professionals, is responsible for the treatment, safety, and recovery of Acute or Chronic ill or injured people, health maintenance of the healthy, and treatment of life-threatening emergencies in a wide range of health care settings....
s are charged with many vital tasks for the care of post-anaesthesia and post operative patients.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Post anesthesia care unit'
Start a new discussion about 'Post anesthesia care unit'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


"PACU" redirects here. For the fish, see Pacu (fish)
Pacu (fish)

Pacu is a common name used to refer to several species of South American freshwater fish that are related to the piranha, which are also kept as pets in aquaria....
.


A post anesthesia care unit, often abbreviated PACU, is a vital part of hospital
Hospital

A hospital is an institution for health care providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment, and often but not always providing for longer-term patient stays....
s, ambulatory care
Ambulatory care

Ambulatory care is any medicine care delivered on an outpatient basis. Many medical conditions do not require hospital admission and can be managed without admission to a hospital....
 centers, and other medical facilities. It is an area, normally attached to operating theatre suites, designed to provide care for patients recovering from anesthesia
Anesthesia

Anesthesia, or anaesthesia , has traditionally meant the condition of having sensation blocked or temporarily taken away. This allows patients to undergo surgery and other procedures without the distress and pain they would otherwise experience....
, whether it be general anaesthesia
General anaesthesia

In modern medical practice, general anaesthesia is a state of total unconsciousness resulting from general anaesthetic drugs. A variety of drugs are given to the patient that have different effects with the overall aim of ensuring unconsciousness, amnesia and analgesia....
, regional anaesthesia
Regional anaesthesia

Regional anaesthesia, is anesthesia affecting only a large part of the body, such as a limb. Regional anaesthetic techniques can be divided into central and peripheral techniques....
, or local anesthesia
Local anesthesia

Local anesthesia is any technique to render part of the body insensitive to pain without affecting consciousness. It allows patients to undergo surgical and dentistry procedures with reduced pain and distress....
.

Common activities


The PACU staff, generally composed of highly trained nurse
Nurse

A nurse is a healthcare professional, who along with other health care professionals, is responsible for the treatment, safety, and recovery of Acute or Chronic ill or injured people, health maintenance of the healthy, and treatment of life-threatening emergencies in a wide range of health care settings....
s are charged with many vital tasks for the care of post-anaesthesia and post operative patients. These essential activities include:-

  • monitoring vital signs (heart rate, blood pressure and respiration)
  • treating symptoms of postoperative nausea and vomiting (or PONV)
  • managing post-operative pain
    Pain

    Pain, in the sense of physical pain, is a typical sensory experience that may be described as the unpleasant awareness of a noxious stimulus or bodily harm....
    .


These common activities may often need supplementing with more intensive care or treatment. This may require :-

  • Preparation and education for the use of Patient Controlled Analgesia (PCA) units
  • Preparation and establishment of IV or epidural
    Epidural

    The term epidural is often short for epidural anesthesia, a form of regional anesthesia involving injection of drugs through a catheter placed into the epidural space....
     infusions
  • Preparation and establishment of invasive monitoring such as arterial line
    Arterial line

    An arterial line, or art-line, is a thin catheter inserted into an artery. It is most commonly used in intensive care medicine to monitor the blood pressure real-time , and to obtain samples for arterial blood gas measurements....
    s, central venous lines
    Central venous catheter

    In medicine, a central venous catheter is a catheter placed into a large vein in the neck , chest or groin . It is used to administer medication or fluids, obtain blood tests , and directly obtain cardiovascular measurements such as the central venous pressure....
     etc


Occasionally, serious life threatening complications, such as laryngospasm
Laryngospasm

In medicine, laryngospasm is an uncontrolled/involuntary muscular contraction of the laryngeal cords. The condition typically lasts less than 30 or 60 seconds, and causes a partial blocking of breathing in, while breathing out remains easier....
 or respiratory arrest, can arise post-anesthesia. Unless complications occur, most patients will only stay in the PACU for a few hours, before returning home or to another department of the hospital.

See also

  • Operating department practitioner
    Operating department practitioner

    Operating Department Practitioners are healthcare professionals working in the United Kingdom. They are mainly employed in surgical operating departments but can be found in other clinical areas including Emergency department Intensive Care ICU/ITU units and The Ambulance Service....
  • Anaesthetic Technician
    Anaesthetic Technician

    Anaesthetic Technicians are healthcare workers employed in the New Zealand Health Service and the Australian Health Service. Anaesthetic Technicians are mainly employed by Anaesthetic Departments or Operating theatre Suites, but can be found in other areas of clinical practice including Emergency Departments, Intensive Care Units and Day Surg...


External links

  • (eMedicine.com) - discusses laryngospasm.