|
must be aware that saturation SaO2 does not equal PaO2. You can saturate well and have a low PaO2....carbon monoxide, methemaglobinemia and other hemoglobin-opathies can cause oxygen to bind well (too well) and never release from the hemoglobin, causing a low PaO2 with a 100% saturation.
Anemic patients that have PEs generally saturate well, welcome to your body's method of compensation. No rule is a 100% rule in the medical world.
"knowledge is the anti-ignorance medical providers seek"
ss
__________________
'Revel in action, translate perceptions into instant judgements, and these into actions that are irrevocable, monumentous and dreadful - all this with lightning speed, in conditions of great stress and in an environment of high tension:what is expected of "us" is the impossible, yet we deliver just that.
(adapted from: Sherwin B. Nuland, MD, surgeon and author: The Wisdom of the Body, 1997 )
Education is the anti-ignorance we all need to better treat our patients. ss, 2008.
The blade is so sharp that the incision is perfect. They don't realize they've been cut until they're out of the fight: A Surgeon Warrior. I use a knife to defend life and to save it. ss (aka traumadoc)
|