PACU Bypass to ICU

[stjohn]

Hi!

This question has probably been asked many times but I am looking for an updated answer as things change over time. This is for PACU nurses in the hospital setting. I am curious as to how many of you take ICU patients in the PACU or do they bypass you straight to ICU?

[subee, MSN, CRNA]

stjohn said:

Hi!

This question has probably been asked many times but I am looking for an updated answer as things change over time. This is for PACU nurses in the hospital setting. I am curious as to how many of you take ICU patients in the PACU or do they bypass you straight to ICU?

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ICU patients generally return to the ICU wherever I have worked.  The staff knows them, they are usually on vents, etc.  Occasionally, if the patient comes from the ER straight to the OR, they will have to stop at PACU if a bed isn't available in ICU.  Also if the surgeon is spooked that the patient might have to return to the OR to control bleeding, they'll keep them in the PACU until they are more stable.

[stjohn]

Thank you Subee, 

it just always seems to be a struggle especially on call weekends when staff are limited. I was was curious what other hospitals are doing.

[BlueShoes12, BSN, RN]

In the PACU where I work, we recover ICU patients unless they are going to stay vented. If the patient is not vented or they want to try to extubate the patient  post op, then they come to us in PACU. We will also board ICU patients after a procedure (surgical or MPR) until an ICU room is available if they came from the ER or a med surg floor. 

[stjohn]

BlueShoes12,

Thank you for your feedback! We are in the process of changing our policy regarding ICU patients. We now can send patients that were vented preop and remained vented directly back bypassing PACU. It's interesting to hear how others do it.