THE MARKET NEED

After Surgery, Patients Are Vulnerable

Patients coming out of anesthesia are more likely to go into respiratory arrest: their cardiopulmonary systems are still depressed. This complication can be fatal but it is preventable with better monitoring.

Respiratory Compromise may be quick and sudden.

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Respiratory Compromise (RC)
Is a Burden for All Stakeholders

1 in 8 elective surgery patients and 1 in 14 medical patients suffer from RC. These patients stay in the hospital 3X longer, their costs are more than twice that of other patients, and they are nearly 15% more likely to die.

 

Current Technology Is Insufficient

 
Currently, overburdened nurses can only spot-check breathing, for even the most fragile patients. Pulse-ox monitors don’t catch problems fast enough.
oximeter

Pulse-oximetry

Pulse-oximetry only alerts medical staff when breathing problems are advanced, and often too late. Yes, they’re cheap and ubiquitous. But they aren’t getting the job done.

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Capnography

Capnography, which measures the carbon dioxide in exhaled breath, is expensive. It is only available for a fraction of the patients who need to be monitored.

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Nurses

Nurses are too busy to do more than occasional spot-checks. These are done manually, and their records are frequently inaccurate. Patients are left unmonitored 98% of the time.

From the literature

Adverse events associated
with sedation

Staff should … not to rely on pulse oximetry alone because pulse oximetry can suggest adequate oxygen saturation in patients … experiencing respiratory depression, especially when supplemental oxygen is being used

Anesthesia & Analgesia;

Vol. 125 Issue 6, 2017
No studies have been published on the effectiveness of capnography on clinically important outcomes (rescue team activation, ICU transfers, or mortality). Etco2 may not accurately reflect the Paco2 in nonintubated patients in the setting of low-tidal volume breathing or mouth breathing… Capnography may require extra training of staff members before implementation

Anesthesia & Analgesia;

Anesthesia & Analgesia;
Quantitative monitoring of the volume of expired gas is strongly encouraged.

American Society of Anesthesiologists

2015
Staff should … not to rely on pulse oximetry alone because pulse oximetry can suggest adequate oxygen saturation in patients … experiencing respiratory depression, especially when supplemental oxygen is being used

Anesthesia & Analgesia;

Vol. 125 Issue 6, 2017
No studies have been published on the effectiveness of capnography on clinically important outcomes (rescue team activation, ICU transfers, or mortality). Etco2 may not accurately reflect the Paco2 in nonintubated patients in the setting of low-tidal volume breathing or mouth breathing… Capnography may require extra training of staff members before implementation

Anesthesia & Analgesia;

Anesthesia & Analgesia;