Stepping out on Cardiopulmonary Bypass?

[TecmoBowl]

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Hi,

I'd like to know what the consensus is out there as far as stepping out of the room while the pt. is on CPB?

I know of many places that do this, and even in my place the surgeon even tells us when it's okay to step out for a few minutes or what not.


And in a place where it practically impossible to get a food break (breakfast/lunch whatever) let alone a pee break, CPB is the only time to step away throw some quick glucose/amino acids into my system and come back.

The danger of working with low blood glucose levels vs.... what?

Please, I'd like to get some opinions on this.

For the record, I don't step out of the room because I don't know... feels weird but many others that I know in different practices do.

I just need some valid logic/reasoning before I figure out how I want to proceed down the line. I just want to know what most other people out there do in this particular scenario.

Thanks.

 

[leaverus]

Yeah, we didn't leave during my residency and i don't do it now. Of course i can usually get someone to relieve me during CPB for a quick lunch break, but if you got no one to do that, then you've really no choice. In that situation, i guess i'd leave too to grab a quick bite.

 

[pjl]

Have you ever seen one of the bypass lines draining onto the floor? I have not been doing this all that long and I have, and am pretty sure I would rather skip lunch than come back to the room to find that out.
How long are your cases that you can't eat and pee preop and postop?

 

[periopdoc]

Keep some granola bars/ peanut butter crackers in your cart, and (if you are a dude) one of those rigid bottles that they use to pour warm saline onto the field and then empty the foley into can be slipped surreptitiously up your pant leg. It seems the patient made significantly more urine on bypass than expected


- pod

 

[urge]

Bad juju, my friend.