What causes false readings for you?

[mycrofft]

Every test has confounders, otherwise we would be replaced by machines in the back of the ambulance. Examples are certain arrythmias fooling vital sign monitor BP"s and pusle readings, extreme urine problems fouling the colorimietric reading of the test strips, mechanical issues with probes and electrodes bollixing monitoring. What do you have experience with messing up your pt assessment qwith mechanical or chemical help?

 

[Shishkabob]

Early repol. vs STEMI where the monitor goes "OH MY GOD MASSIVE MI IN ALL QUADRANTS!!!! BATTLESTATIONS!" .... or something like that.

 

[fma08]

Inaccurate NIBP from the monitor. But, that's an easy fix by taking a manual one if something seems a bit off.

 

[Veneficus]

The 12 lead that doesn't recognize second degree heart blocks and lists them as NSR.

 

[MrBrown]

People who don't know what they are looking at, or for

 

[iamajammer]

My favorite is when I get a call from a nurse saying "the patient is desaturating, come quick." I look at the pleth and its pretty much a straight line, then I touch the patients finger and its ice cold. Pt is in no distress, vitals are normal, I then place the probe on the patients ear and voila, 95% with a good pleth. Basically bad pulse ox readings are my pet peeve.

 

[jjesusfreak01]

I had one instructor who just hated pulseox because it may distract an EMT from using better indicators. I think it's great so long as you use it with other signs of perfusion.

 

[Hellsbells]

The 12 lead that doesn't recognize second degree heart blocks and lists them as NSR.

I hate the read out on the monitor that tells you what the rhythm is supposed to be. I don't even bother looking at it, as it is usually so far off that it is of no diagnostic use whatsoever.

 

[Jinkx]

Im glad im not the only one. However, I do like to figure out how it may have come to that conclusion. Most of the time there is no reason to the rhyme.

 

[mycrofft]

How about low lead voltage due to user abuse/neglect?

Yanked wires, dirty electrode clips, bits of paper elecrodes or corrosion in the clips, old cracked gell electrode pads...

 

[Jinkx]

A pulse ox may indicate near 100% at times when CO2 is mostly present. I use the old standby, "read the patient and not the monitor". If air is not going in and out and the blood not going round and round....

 

[Fox800]

I'll just leave this here...ran this patient a few months ago.

 

[Jinkx]

I'll just leave this here...ran this patient a few months ago.

"Abnormal"!!!!!!!!!!! REALLY, hope you dont see very many of those this weekend. I have a HIPA friendly collection myself, caught a run of trijimeny. I do have one similar to that 12bpm! We pushed and breathed for 30min sp Asystoly didnt have field term orders sp Ike from evacuated area across water with ferry shut down,......exhaustion

 

[Jinkx]

"Abnormal"!!!!!!!!!!! REALLY, hope you dont see very many of those this weekend. I have a HIPA friendly collection myself, caught a run of trijimeny. I do have one similar to that 12bpm! We pushed and breathed for 30min sp Asystoly didnt have field term orders sp Ike from evacuated area across water with ferry shut down,......exhaustion

You get my exwife permmision to use that! LOL

 

[exodus]

I'll just leave this here...ran this patient a few months ago.

Looks more like flutter to me?

Edit: And a BB in v1/2?

 

[MasterIntubator]

Looks like agonal to me. ( what was the pt doing at time of strip? ).

 

[mycrofft]

Children, children...

Point taken. Machine unimpressed.
Looks like my tracing until last February.