Journal of perioperative practice
-
Discharge readiness of patients from the post anaesthetic care unit (PACU) is often determined by specific discharge criteria. This quantitative, descriptive national study aimed to survey discharge criteria used in the PACU. Data from 45 hospitals nationally with a response rate of 77.8% (n = 35) was gathered. Specific discharge criteria were used by 71.4% (n = 25) of the PACUs in the determination of fitness of patients for discharge from the PACU.
-
Anyone who has seen a skull bone flap being turned or the sternum being divided at a median sternotomy will be well aware of the considerable bleeding that can occur in these procedures from the highly vascular red bone marrow inside these structures. They will also, no doubt, have seen the surgeon stem the bleeding by smearing wax--Horsley's bone wax--over the cut surfaces of the bone.