Appropriate patient monitoring can reduce acute respiratory events in the hospital, reports Anesthesiology News. 

Although the program did not lead to changes in PSI-11 (Patient Safety Indicator 11), ICU transfers or mortality, continuous monitoring with capnography and pulse oximetry was associated with reductions in postoperative respiratory failure, cardiac arrest/resuscitation events and length of stay from a respiratory event.

“We implemented this program because it was the right thing to do for our patients,” said Christine O’Farrell, BSN, CPHQ, CPHRM, director of quality management for Barton Healthcare, in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., “but these data suggest that continuous monitoring with both capnography and pulse oximetry may improve quality by reducing severe respiratory adverse events and length of stay for high-risk patients.”

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