Blue Baby = Busy Lady

So when a vented child starts to turn blue what do you do?

I must confess that the adrenaline started to flow and it was a series of tasks and check marks in my head I went through. I am proud to say that my first thought of, " Oh my God get help." was quickly followed by, turn on suction, grab a sterile glove and cath kit. Silence beeping alarms, manual breath, disconnect vent from trach and suction, 1 pass- nothing, 2nd pass nothing, 3 pass nasty thick yellow mucous plug. O2 sats climbing. Nice pink color returning. Reconnected vent to trach, manual breath for good measure, clear vent, all is good. O2 sat a nice 93%, lift up child and CPT for a good minute. Listen to lung sounds, SVN treatment, listen to lung sounds again, then back to suction 1 more time. Large amount of secretions obtained & cleared. Ending result for the day were Sats maintaining in the 98% range.

However, the next day was a day filled with dropping O2 sats. Most especially was a nap time filled with O2 titration to maintain sats above 93% and only managing to keep them hovering at 89- 90% while asleep. At least that nap was short but I sure was busy.