Product Description

The care that a patient receives in the first hours after surgery is crucial to minimizing the risk of complications such as heart attacks, pneumonia, and blood clots. As the patient awakes from their drug-induced coma, it takes time for them to metabolize and excrete these drugs, during which period they remain unable to care for themselves, and at increased risk of harm. The body undergoes extreme physiological assault from pain, hypothermia, hypoxia, acid-base disturbance and shifts in blood volume. The recovery room staff must manage these symptoms in both comatose and physiologically unstable patients, and deal with the immediate post-operative care of surgical patients by attending to drips, drains and dressings. It is an environment where many skills and equipment are brought together, and successful development of these units has significantly reduced the number of deaths from preventable conditions. In helping the patient from the high pressure operating theatre to the wards, nurses, surgeons and anaesthetists will be required to manage day-to-day problems, but also make difficult decisions. Previous editions of this book have established it as the definitive guide to setting-up, equipping, staffing, and administering this acute care unit. It includes basic science such as physiology and pharmacology, specific symptoms including pain and vomiting, and has chapters devoted to the unique post-operative needs of individual types of surgery. This new edition brings this important text up to date, including new material on risk management, administration and quality control; expanded sections on anaesthetic practice and infection prevention; and incorporating the recent developments in pain control, nausea and vomiting, care of children, pregnancy, and care of the cardiac patient.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #103263 in Books
• Published on: 2008-11-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 500 pages

Customer Reviews

The complete A-Z of Recovery Nursing
Hatfield has proved herself once again to be a master of the Recovery Room process. This book is a must for all working with patients in the Recovery room. The no nonsense approach ensures that all aspects are covered in a readable and understandable manner.

This book has become an essential part of my library and I recommend it to all nurses!!!

A valuable introduction to Recovery Room care.
Good textbooks aimed specifically at patient care in the Recovery Room are regrettably few and far between. In this book Hatfield and Tronson have focussed on many of the specific needs of such individuals. Written primarily from the standpoint of the authors own practice this book avoids the inclusion of the endless references which make many nursing works unreadable. Containing much which will be of use to existing and new members of staff as well as Students of Nursing and Student Operating Department Practitioners this is one textbook which all Post Anaesthetic Care Units should endeavour to own.