Co-morbidity

There are some conditions, listed below that recovery staff should be made aware of.

Question: Why do you think the recovery staff should be notified of the conditions below?

  1. Previous breast surgery
  2. Patient has a fistula for dialysis
  3. The patient is deaf
  4. The patient has latex allergy
  5. The patient is a prisoner
  6. The patient has sputum positive tuberculosis

Click here for the answers.

Answer:

  1. Previous breast surgery: the ipsilateral arm is not used for blood pressure cuff application or intravenous cannulation if there has been axillary surgery
  2. Fistula for dialysis: to protect the blood flow through the fistula, a blood pressure cuff must not be applied on the same side. The fistula must not be cannulated unless for dialysis
  3. Patient is deaf:patient may seem slow to wake up as he or she is not responding to the verbal stimulus
  4. Latex allergy: latex-free equipment must be used in recovery
  5. Patient is a prisoner: usually the prison guards would like to be informed as soon as the patient is conscious so that they can supervise the patient. The patient should also be isolated from other patients in recovery
  6. Patient has TB: both staff and other patients need to be adequately protected from TB exposure. They may need advice from occupational health