Abstract
The pandemic year of 2020 brought unparalleled and swift changes to health care processes within Australia. All registered nurses in the Post Anaesthesia Care Unit (PACU) of a regional tertiary referral hospital had to make changes to routine personal protective equipment (PPE) practice to accommodate a safer environment for both staff and patients. Changes to PPE practices included the addition of heat moisture exchange (HME) filters to laryngeal mask airways (LMAs), and the use of Level 3 surgical masks during aerosolising procedures such as extubation and nebulisation. Changes were also made to the structured handover from anaesthetic nurse to the PACU to increase compliance with PPE practice.
Highlights
COVID-19 is an infectious airway disease, spread primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose[1]
Data suggests asymptomatic or mild infections account for 80 per cent of cases, and asymptomatic patients are likely to journey through the operating theatre without implementation of the personal protective equipment (PPE) precautions recommended for airborne particles[2]
The heat moisture exchange (HME) anaesthetic filters used intra-operatively were Journal of Perioperative Nursing Volume 34 Number 2 Winter 2021 acorn.org.au e-19 removed from the laryngeal mask airways (LMAs) on transfer from the operating theatre (OT), and patients were received in the Post Anaesthesia Care Unit (PACU) with no HME filter on the airway
Summary
Follow this and additional works at: https://www.journal.acorn.org.au/jpn Part of the Perioperative, Operating Room and Surgical Nursing Commons. Ms (2021) "COVID changes to Post Anaesthesia Care Unit nursing practices," Journal of Perioperative Nursing: Vol 34 : Iss. 2 , Article 3. This Project report is brought to you for free and open access by Journal of Perioperative Nursing.
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