Home
Resources
Airway Management
Guidelines
Notes
Machines
ENT
Pediatrics
Cardiac
Third Year
Miscellaneous
Needle Sticks
For Newcomers
Medline Access
Memo Heaven
Page Someone
E-mail Search
Exchange Logon
Faculty Schedule
ClinWeb
Pulmonary Status
| It is important to ask about asthma, COPD, emphysema, smoking, restrictive lung disease, recent pneumonia or URI. If indicated, a preoperative CXR, pulmonary function tests or arterial blood gas should be done prior to surgery. Cessation of smoking is controversial due to the fact that it may take 4 to 6 weeks for the lungs to return to their pre-smoking state. |
| If a patient has reactive airway disease (asthma, COPD), it is important to do elective surgery while their disease process is not active. If they have a current URI, elective surgery should be delayed since an upper respiratory infection can trigger bronchospasm. Consider a regional anesthetic technique in emergent cases, if possible. |
| History / Physical + type of surgery = |
| If indicated |
| Room air blood gas |
| Limited PFT's (w / without bronchodilator) |
| Smoking cessation - controversial |
| Asthma |
| Must not have URI/chest cold/asthma flare |
| May choose regional technique |
This page was last built using
Frontier on a Macintosh on Sun, Jul 18, 1999 at 22:37:01. Webmaster: clark@utmb.edu