s/p lap appy...died in 24 hrs

chenoaspirit, ASN, RN · Dec 11, 2006

Do you have any details of what was going on when the patient died? Such as SOB, tremors, temp., bp, HR, o2 sat., etc.

suzy253, RN · Dec 11, 2006

perhaps pulmonary embolism?.....need more info though

augigi, CNS · Dec 11, 2006

Could be anything - internal hemorrhage from a nicked organ, massive sepsis (although it's pretty early, would have probably been septic preop), anesthetic-related complications, stroke, MI, PE, respiratory failure, electrolyte imbalance postoperatively (unlikely) etc etc

hunny_pye · Dec 11, 2006

No Idea What Was The Pts Status When Pt Died. They Ttansfered The Pt To Ccu And Coded There. But During My Shift Pt Was Alert And Oriented, Ambulatory.only Prob Was Unable To Urinate And Pain. Straight Cath Was About 350ml And Able To Void About 150ml. Sleeps Most Of The Shift And Will Wake For Pain Issues. The Next Day, Failure To Urinate Again, Straight Cath Was None.

hunny_pye · Dec 11, 2006

Are You Able To Detect Pulmonary Embolism Ryt After Surgery?IS BOWEL PEORATION A FACTOR? CAN YOU DETECT THESE RYT AFTER SUGERY?

augigi, CNS · Dec 11, 2006

Why did he get sent to CCU? Sounds like they were worried about cardiac function, which may have led to acute renal failure?

leslie :-D · Dec 12, 2006

i was thinking peritonitis?

leslie

AnnieOaklyRN, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Dec 12, 2006

Maybe had a nick to his/her colon and ended up with peritonitis (sp) which would explain the pain.

swtooth

GardenDove · Dec 12, 2006

We need more information such as medical hx, age, VS. It seems that Med-Surg nurses deserve some feedback on something like this as well, in order to get a clearer picture as to possible complications. Have you talked to your manager about this?

coffeeaddict, LPN, LVN · Dec 12, 2006

If he died within 24 hrs after appy, then it would not be sepsis, ARF. Hemmorage could cause pain and low urine output. Have also seen PE cause sudden death, but most of the time they code on the floor, no time to get to the unit. My bet would be bleeding if younger, if older add MI, Stroke to the mix.

gr8rnpjt, RN · Dec 12, 2006

I had a patient's op wound open wide with popped stitches several hours after a lap appe. The surgeon was well known for bad outcomes. pt CTB within 24 hours.