Follow
Share

How low can her O2 sats get before she needs readmitted to the hospital? Mom was in the hospital for 6 days with bacterial pneumonia, and released to transitional care because she was very weak and unable to go home. She has been there about 5 days now. Friday I thought she had turned a corner for the better, but tonight Monday I went in to see her and she was burning up with fever, not very alert and although she knew where she was, she was wasn't making much sense when she talked. I've seen her like that when she was overmedicated and sick...kind of like she was time traveling in her mind. She said her O2 sats had been 57 this morning! She is normally on 3 litres and stays around 88-95. Considering the pneumonia, I would expect her sats to be on the low end of that right now, but 57 is downright dangerous. They cranked her up to 6 liters and left her there all day, and her sat was 86 tonight on that. I had to round up the charge nurse to see what was going on, and he got the respiratory nurse to come in and assess her. I'm worried that her sats will go down again...shouldn't they have taken her to the ER or at the very least called me if it was that low? I'm worried that she'll have organ failure and brain damage if it gets that low again and no one notices. At least in the hospital she's monitored continuously and an alarm goes off when it gets low. I just wish I knew how much to expect of this facility, because I can't be there 24/7, obviously. She's feeling so awful, aches all over and can barely move...can't even turn herself over to her other side in the bed without help, and it seems she's getting worse instead of better. What's the best way to support her right now? The nurses are very nice and attentive when I ask for something for her, but I worry about when I'm not there.

This question has been closed for answers. Ask a New Question.
If you get a surprise reading of 57 the first thing to do is check it again, because there's a good chance the reading was wrong (though it depends on how they're measuring it, of course).

But clearly the main thing is that your mother is still unwell. I hope you find her improved at your next visit, please update.
Helpful Answer (4)
Report

Love-bombing the staff is an excellent strategy! Hope there's good news waiting for you.
Helpful Answer (4)
Report

Just a comment on the use of vaporub on someone who's getting oxygen: if the vaporub contains petrolatum, it should NOT be used for someone on oxygen.
Helpful Answer (4)
Report

Is her own doctor following her care at the TCU ? If so then call his (her) office after hours if need be
Several years ago my mom was sent from hospital to TCU following a fall and was in renal failure due to dehydration and left unchecked over the weekend -TCU staff md is not anyone that I would choose or trust but more and more doctors don't visit facilities

Unfortunately you have to advocate on a near daily basis - it's draining physically and emotionally

Let us know how it goes
Helpful Answer (3)
Report

I have to disagree, LL. Hospitals are disorienting and germy places for the elderly. In general, i wanted my mom out of an acute bed and back in the nh asap. Now, as her dementia has progressed, we've gone to palliative care, whereby the nh treats the pneumonia, but we have a "do not transport" order for her. At this point, pneumonia is going to be a less painful death than dementia or chf.
Helpful Answer (3)
Report

I second that, Babalou. I doubt if even pneumonia sees off quite as many very elderly people as hospital acquired infection, overstretched nursing staff, gung-ho interns and dementia all wrapped up together in one lethal bundle. Terrible things happen to little old ladies in hospital, especially demented little old ladies, none of it intentional. I was lucky enough to have a GP who always backed me up on 'get her out of there - stat!'

My former neighbour-over-the-road, aged 86, has no bone density to speak of, advanced heart disease and is a nightmare patient. But my God she has a will of iron. When she needed IV antibiotics for her infected hip replacement she still would not stay in hospital - she had the district nurses coming to her house three times a day to check the cannula and administer the next drip feed. Maybe they just went along with it to spare the hospital staff from having her on the ward! - but it does go to show it can be done.
Helpful Answer (3)
Report

When did you post, Amicable? It's 20:54 here = 3:34pm EST.

I'm sorry you're both going through this. Please keep updating, thinking of you even though it doesn't help :(
Helpful Answer (3)
Report

Just checked...below 80% is where organ damage starts to occur. 65% and below, you get mental confusion. 55% is loss of conciousness. Don't know if the copd skews this at all.
Helpful Answer (2)
Report

Thanks to all, and no, she is not on hospice. She is in transitional care for 2 kinds of pneumonia. I suppose it came back up right away or they would have taken her. However, I'm told there's a full complement of respiratory professionals on staff as they have a respiratory care unit, so if they could handle it without a trip to the ER, I'd rather they did that. I was just upset because they didn't let me know it got that low...I really feel I should have been alerted. From my research, sat needs to be 92% to properly enter the blood cells, and below 85% is risk for organ damage....if not, please correct me. At any rate, she seems to be doing much better today. A new antibiotic, a simpatico roommate and visits from friends have helped!
Helpful Answer (2)
Report

llama, I'm so sorry you suffered that. Just wanted to update everyone...it seems there has been some recent turnover in the NH, and mom is thankfully recovering, and is coming home in a few days. We will have PT, OT and bathing help as well as nursing visits. She's weak, but very motivated to come home! I do have to say that for the most part the care has been very decent with that one concerning exception. Turns out they had fully qualified respiratory staff on hand, so they did the same things they would have done in the hospital to get her sats up, and without the disturbance of readmitting her. I appreciate everyone's input here! Meanwhile she's doing better, and since there's someone to look after her, hubby and I don't have to worry for the weekend and will take a short respite :) (take it when you can get it, right?!) Thanks again everyone for your advice and prayers!
Helpful Answer (2)
Report

See All Answers
This question has been closed for answers. Ask a New Question.
Ask a Question
Subscribe to
Our Newsletter