Management
Prevention is the best form of management. If postoperative atelactasis does occur then management is as follows:
- removal of impacted secretions by coughing, managed by physiotherapists, and involves
- active chest percussion and breathing exercises
- passive postural drainage
- ensure adequate analgesia, which may require an intercostal block in upper abdominal incisions
- if the condition is severe then a catheter can be passed into the bronchi and secretions directly aspirated via the nose or an endotracheal tube
- if pyrexia is persistent for more than 48 hours then there is a probable secondary chest infection:
- likely organism is pneumococcus so treat with augmentin
- if there was possible aspiration then treat also with metronidazole
Related pages
Create an account to add page annotations
Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page