Signal for help from little patients 4

Premature born children are so impatient that they come to this world earlier than their lungs are fully developed and before their hearts start beating stable. It is vital to constantly keep an eye on the pulse and the breathing of the premature born child.

There are also many pathologies, during which there is a chronic lack of oxygen in the blood – hypoxy. For the monitoring and maintenance of vital functions of the body – breathing and heart beating of small patients, there is a specific medical device – a pulse oximeter.

Pulse oximeter is a medical control and diagnostic tool for non-invasive measurement of oxygen saturation level of capillary blood. A pulse oximeter has a sensor that is attached to the child and it monitors the percentage the blood is saturated with oxygen. The doctor or nurse having such data may adjust the percentage of oxygen that is supplied to the child depending on the individual needs of each child. Another very important thing is that preterm infants often suffer the delay of breathing (apnea). These may be physiological or pathological as a result of immaturity. This condition can lead to death and with the help of the pulse oximeter the delay in breath can be recognized immediately and doctors can take the necessary measures so that the child starts to breathe again.

In addition the pulse oximeter shows the heart rate of the child which is essential in nursing premature babies. After all immature children often have arrhythmias - disruptions of the heart, which are very difficult to diagnose without monitoring. Thus it is impossible to nurse a premature baby without monitoring extremely important indicators, such as blood oxygen situation and heart rate.
The duration of pulse oximetry depends on the maturity of the child and the nature of his illness. Prematurely born children live, grow and develop under the control of the pulse oximeter.

With a sufficient number of Pulse oximeters in Ivano-Frankivsk Region's Children's Clinical Hospital they could effectively foster greater care for premature babies. Their disabilities would decrease significantly and it would greatly improve the quality of their lives.