November 14, 2021
Help Identify Opioid-Induced Respiratory Depression in Your MSU's Patients
Patients decompensate in largely unpredictable ways on MSUs
Cardiac and respiratory monitoring of patients in medical-surgical units (MSUs) is minimal, even though approximately 40 percent of medical-surgical patients experience an acute respiratory event.1
Generally, patients in MSUs are assumed to be less complex and more hemodynamically stable — not requiring additional or continuous monitoring,2 however, many patients receive opioids for pain control, increasing their risk of opioid-induced respiratory depression (OIRD).
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