Pulse Oximetry and Capnography: In a Nutshell (Nursing)

00:00 Alright, hopefully, you've invested some time in studying those concepts.

00:04 Now, we're gonna wrap up the video.

00:07 Pulse oximetry assesses oxygenation by measuring how much of each of the red blood cell's hemoglobin is bound to oxygen.

00:14 Remember, that's a generic one and there can be some special cases but as a general rule, the pulse ox is gonna measure how much of the red blood cell's hemoglobin is bound to oxygen.

00:26 Now, SaO2 is the ratio of oxyhemoglobin, the good stuff, to deoxyhemoglobin, the empty ones, because it's gonna be calculated from shining a light at a specific wavelength through the patient's tissue.

00:40 Now, carbon monoxide combines with hemoglobin to form carboxyhemoglobin.

00:46 That is no good for the patient. In fact, it's deadly.

00:50 Capnography is a noninvasive way to measure the partial pressure of carbon dioxide at the end of exhalation.

00:58 Remember, we can do that both on if the patient who's intubated with a little sensor or we could also do it on a special nasal cannula.

01:07 Because special sensors are required in the nasal cannula or the ET tubing to measure end tidal CO2 in real time.

01:15 Thank you for watching our video today.