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We rarely put patients prone, unless they are not responding to all other respiratory therapy and even then it is treated as just another position to help move secretions and assist physio.
We use the standard bed to nurse them prone on, and turn them with the assistance of lots of staff (at least 5 - 6)
Stryker makes a good bed for this, however studies have shown that you can turn someone at about a 45 degree angle on standard rotation and have the same effects. Your goal is to change up the V/Q mismatch and hit areas of the lung that arent being ventilated and/or perfused properly. We use this mostly as a last ditch effort in ARDS in the presence of a low PO2 when High Fio2 and PEEP are ineffective.
tree22_RN
13 Posts
does anyone prone patients? We very rarely do this and at one point had access to a pronation bed, however the company pulled the bed from our area which is eastern ohio because of low usage. Hillrom company has a device (Volmer)(sp?) was wondering if anyone has used it. We are currently proning a patient using an OR table and all of the positioning devices they use in the OR. Appreciate any comments.