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Discussion

What would you have done?

I was doing an admission this morning in a home. She was discharged from hospital yesterday after only being there for 24 hours for a syncope episode. They did a big work up and never determined the cause. At the start of my admission she started saying she was dizzy while sitting at the table with me. She asked me to hand her the trash because she was a little nauseous. I took her blood pressure and it was 95/48. I get her a thermus of water and tell her to drink. We continued along and probably 20 min later she complained she was really dizzy and was having a hard time keeping her head up. I took her BP again and this time it was 59/32. So im like yikes a 40 point drop almost and shes symptomatic. So I tell her and her son who is present that she needs medical attention. I take it again a minute later and this time it is 55/28. Shes 85 and weighs 100 lbs and has a wheel chair and lives 5 min from hospital. What would you have done... Let her large son and grown granddaughter drive her to ER, or call for an ambulance and remain with the patient?

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    • Featured Replies

    Call EMS/911 without a doubt!

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    I would have called for an ambulance. What was the outcome in this situation?

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    • Experts

    Agree that I would have called for an ambulance.

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    • Author

    Ugh Im an idiot. I was concerned with a BP so low that she would be unsafe to transfer but with the three of us we got her in her wheelchair no problem. I suggested at least twice to call an ambulance but the patient insisted she just needed to get there. When I called report to the ER the triage nurse couldn't believe I let her go by private car. I hate that I got flustered and obviously made a mistake. Not sure of the outcome yet.

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    I would have called EMS. Then again, you can't force her to go in ambulance.

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    Ambulance.

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    You know the answer by now.

    Is she okay?

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    Agree 911 should have been called but honestly she was probably seen way faster the way it actually happened.

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    • Guides

    Did you lay her down?

    Sent from my iPhone.

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    . When I called report to the ER the triage nurse couldn't believe I let her go by private car..

    What were you supposed to do,sit on her?

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    • Author

    I did get an update and when she got to the hospital her BP was 113/70 something. I gave her water to drink on her way to the hospital but how did it go up that much?? I know what I heard.. Anyways, they kept her overnight seeing as she had that syncope episode two days prior. Weird..

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    Called for an ambulance without a doubt! If that had happened at the hospital that would have been a RRT for sure, pt is completely unstable at that point.

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