Frequently Asked Questions
Welcome to ASPAN’s Clinical Practice Committee “FAQ” Page
Read answers to some of the most frequently asked clinical practice questions received by ASPAN. These questions will be modified periodically as practice issues change.
If you do not find the answer to your question, please feel free to submit it to ASPAN's Clinical Practice Network or post it on the ASPAN Forum.
Q: What are the recommendations for PACU nurses regarding ACLS and PALS?
Q: Is there an acuity system that ASPAN recommends to help with daily staffing?
Q: Does ASPAN have any recommendation for bladder scanning on:
• Post-op urology patients
• Outpatients prior to discharge
• Patients who have received spinal anesthesia
Do you have clinical guidelines for a postop bladder protocol which evaluates a patient’s post-void residual/what volume straight catheterization or foley catheterization is indicated?
Q: Is Capnography required in Phase I PACU?
Q: What are the criteria for discharging a patient following spinal anesthesia?
Q: What are hospital PACUs doing regarding sending patients back direct to ICU from the OR, especially if the patient came from the ICU? If the patient goes back to ICU must a PACU RN recover the patient there?
Q: Does ASPAN have a position on dose ranging of medications? If so, what is it?
Q: Can a PACU nurse extubate a patient? Must an anesthesia provider be present?
Q. Does ASPAN have any recommendation regarding best practice for fall risk assessments? Are there any recommendations for fall prevention?
Q. Looking for a method to calculate IV fluid replacement for children and adults for the NPO hours, operative and post anesthesia period?
Q. Is there a minimum amount of time a pt is to be held in Ph 1 PACU before discharging to Ph 2?
• adults
• pediatric
Q. Can licensed practical nurses (LPNs) or vocational nurses (VNs) work in the PACU if they are qualified (such as having BLS, ACLS, hemodynamic courses, arrhythmia courses, starting IVs, drawing blood, and working PACU for years)?
Q. What is ASPAN’s recommendation regarding the role of the perianesthesia nurse during a preoperative peripheral nerve block?
Q. Does ASPAN have any recommendations or standards guiding the PACU nurse when assisting the anesthesiologist in administering peripheral nerve blocks, such as injecting the anesthetics directly under their supervision as well as monitoring the patient?
Q. What are the differences between Phase I, Phase II, and Extended Care?
Q. What is the recommendation from ASPAN on a patient coming from an inpatient floor on a Precedex drip? If we are titrating what is the recommendation for monitoring/ staffing, & if the drip is at threshold, what is the monitoring/staffing for preop holding?
Q. Can we put Preop patients in the same area that we have patients recovering from anesthesia?
Q. What is the definition of "responsible adult?" If a patient does not have a responsible adult to accompany them at discharge, what do you suggest?
Q. Regarding the standard about when to implement medical-surgical restraints -- when does the standard apply?
Q. What is the standard for handoff report from the PACU to the receiving unit?
Q. What is best practice for a preoperative skin assessment for preprocedure/ preoperative patients?
Q. What are the ASPAN staffing recommendations for pediatric patients in preop, Phase I, Phase II, and extended care?
Q. What does ASPAN say about staffing after hours and on call?
Q. What are the staffing recommendations for Phase I level of care? Is it necessary to have two nurses present?
Q. What research has been done on temporal artery thermometers, and how accurate are they compared to tympanic thermometers?
Q. Should PACU or ICU recover ICU patients on ventilators?
Q. What is ASPAN’s standard for vital sign frequency in Phase I and Phase II and Extended Care?
Q. Does ASPAN have standards or recommendations guiding the use of perioperative leg compression therapy for VTE prevention? What are some of the indications and contraindications for use?