Crazy night...

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Specializes in Peds Cardiology,Peds Neuro,Pedi ER,PICU, IV Jedi.

Just thought I'd let you all know what happened earlier tonight...

We're all working and pretty busy (22 bed peds cardiology unit) and we're the joking around type so we're all at the desk during a momentary lapse in the craziness..when my charge nurse mumbles "I'm dizzy"...one of my nurses say's "So and So, you're not busy..you haven't moved in 15 minutes!" At that point my charge nurse loses consciousness.

I am immediately summoned and knowing her history (gastric bypass about a year ago) I get a d stick...67. Definitely NOT good for someone who ate less than an hour prior to this event. The other VS were normal, so we gave her OJ...

Anyway, after a bit of OJ she started to come around - all the while the nursing sup. has been paged and "Charge nurse" is given more to stabilize her BS.

My nursing supervisor says "oh, you shouldn't have done that d stick, you should have called a code"...which, in retrospect I perhaps could have done...but that would have brough 20 people up and nothing more than we did would have been done....

I was wondering if anyone else has had that experience with patients who've had this surgery?? For them just to go "out" like that??

She's fine now, and going home to rest for tonight and tomorrow. She was seen by docs in our sister hospital next door and cleared to go home.

vamedic4

0700 isn't here yet??

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Hiya,

I myself had a Roux N Y Gastric Bypass back in 1998. Still to this day i occasionally will go very HYPO. Fortunately i have so far caught it before iI've passed out. It is a really uncomfortable/horrible feeling, gives me a better idea of how diabetics feel.

Doesn't happen to me very often and fortunately i've always been somewhere where i've been able to get something to eat/drink quickly. I've come close to passing out but touch wood.. not yet..

I'm in Scotland and my lowest blood sugar was 2.7mmol/l on our scale(48.6mg/dl US ).. was lucky in that my diabetic b/f was visiting and i tested myself using his meter..

Probably should get a meter myself for those times..

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I'm sorry......she lost consciousness but had a pulse and was breathing.....and you should have called a code? Am I missing something?

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Specializes in Orthosurgery, Rehab, Homecare.
I'm sorry......she lost consciousness but had a pulse and was breathing.....and you should have called a code? Am I missing something?

I don't know about the OP, but in our facility we would have called a "code green". That would have brought an ICU nurse and an MD running. (As opposed to a "code blue" in which all the assorted peeps show up.)

~Jen

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Well, don't know as I'd have given OJ to an unconscious person.

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Sounds to me that since you knew the history and the vitals were stable, you and the other nurses did what any prudent nurse would do. I think this is called critical thinking. Good job.....

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I wouldn't have given OJ to her either, but I wouldn't have called a code.

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Specializes in Peds Cardiology,Peds Neuro,Pedi ER,PICU, IV Jedi.
Sounds to me that since you knew the history and the vitals were stable, you and the other nurses did what any prudent nurse would do. I think this is called critical thinking. Good job.....

Exactly. She was "briefly" unconscious...rest assured she was AROUSED prior to administering orange juice..sorry about that. Yes, ABCs were intact...no problems there...otherwise YEAH...I'd have had everyone and their grandmother up there.

Code Blue at our facility sends all sorts of staff from ICU, ER, radiology, lab...you name it, they come...for medical emergencies involving patients, staff and visitors. And again...after the juice and a very brief discussion with the Nsg. supervisor we took her down to see the MD immediately.

They did bloodwork, including a serum glucose...which was WNL at the ER next door. All turned out okay so she was sent home with her hubby.;)

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Sounds exactly whatI would have done.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

You did the right thing. You were critically thinking and because of that she is now o.k. Which is a lot better than a bunch of people standing around saying "why did you call a code, she's breathing and has a heartrate, so we're done here. What should we do now?"

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Exactly. She was "briefly" unconscious...rest assured she was AROUSED prior to administering orange juice..sorry about that. Yes, ABCs were intact...no problems there...otherwise YEAH...I'd have had everyone and their grandmother up there.

Code Blue at our facility sends all sorts of staff from ICU, ER, radiology, lab...you name it, they come...for medical emergencies involving patients, staff and visitors. And again...after the juice and a very brief discussion with the Nsg. supervisor we took her down to see the MD immediately.

They did bloodwork, including a serum glucose...which was WNL at the ER next door. All turned out okay so she was sent home with her hubby.;)

Well, sounds to me like you handled it all properly, then. We didn't have the 'code green' that someone else talked about at our hospital, but that sounds like a good idea.

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