Low Oxygen Saturation

So today I was assigned a patient who was post-op day #2 from a Right Total Knee Replacement surgery. She was on her road to recovery. She is still struggling with ambulating and she has been getting assistance using a walker to get around. The previous nurse reported to me that my patient's oxygen levels have been in the 80s. She was given 2L oxygen through a nasal cannula to keep her oxygen saturation levels up.

So here is an experiment for you. . . try to breathe through a straw, plug your nose, and slowly take breaths for 2 min. First of all, that is how an a patient with Emphysema feels when they try to breathe. After breathing for 2 min, your oxygen saturation goes down to about 93%. That's when it's difficult to breathe. Can you imagine what it would feel like to be sating at 83%??? Talk about oxygen deprivation!

Well, I freak out about this sort of thing. I told her to take a few deep breaths and that got her oxygen level to the 90s. I gave her 2L of oxygen by nasal cannula again and she seemed to be doing a lot better. It worries me though. I don't like it when a patient has to be on oxygen after a surgery. I talked to my nurse about it and she said they might have to order a chest x-ray if she can't keep her oxygen levels up on room air.

I continued to assess her lungs and encouraged the use of her incentive spirometer. I left my clinical rotation while she was still on oxygen. I'm hoping, during report tomorrow, that she improved overnight.

Ohh the importance of oxygen. Every breathe we take supplies every living cell in our body with oxygen which is needed for cellular respiration to create energy for our body's tissues and organs. We can't live with out it. Every breath keeps us alive. . . "The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being," (Genesis 2:7).

You could imagine how I was feeling today! My poor patient breathing without oxygen getting to her body. I'm so grateful I could be there to help. I'm hoping for a change for the better :)