Physician-patient alliance: ‘Capnography saves lives’
The Association for Radiologic and Imaging Nursing (ARIN) is among the organizations pushing for capnography monitoring of inpatients receiving opioids.
The occasion is the sixth anniversary of the tragic death of an 18-year-old who went into the hospital for severe strep throat. Amanda Abbiehl needed patient-controlled analgesia in order to swallow food and water.
“ARIN endorses the routine use of capnography for all patients who receive moderate sedation/analgesia during procedures in the imaging environment,” ARIN states, adding that capnography technology “provides the critical information necessary to detect respiratory depression, hypoventilation and apnea, thus allowing the timely initiation of appropriate interventions to rescue the individual patient.”
The Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety is organizing the communications drive and has the full story, with related links: