Post-anesthesia care unit - wikipedia Post-anesthesia care unit `` PACU '' redirects here. For the fish, see Pacu. This article does not cite any sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( May 2013 ) A post-anesthesia care unit, often abbreviated PACU and sometimes referred to as post-anesthesia recovery or PAR, is a vital part of hospitals, ambulatory care centers, and other medical facilities. It is an area, normally attached to operating room suites, designed to provide care for patients recovering from general anesthesia, regional anesthesia, or local anesthesia. Contents 1 Common activities 2 Postoperative complications 3 See also 4 External links Common activities The basic responsibilities of PACU staff include : airway management and oxygen administration for patients who have undergone general anesthesia monitoring vital signs ( heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, and respiratory rate ) managing postoperative pain treating postoperative nausea and vomiting treating postanesthetic shivering monitoring surgical sites for excessive bleeding, mucopurulent discharge, swelling, hematomas, wound healing, and infection More intensive care may include : Preparation and education for the use of patient - controlled analgesia ( PCA ) units Preparation and administration of intravenous, epidural, or perineural infusions Invasive monitoring such as arterial lines, central venous lines, and ventriculostomies Postoperative complications Occasionally, life - threatening complications, such as laryngospasm, respiratory arrest, or malignant hyperthermia, can arise after anesthesia. Patients may be intubated because of anaphylaxis, pulmonary edema, pneumothorax, or long - term exposure to anesthesia and narcotics. Unless complications occur, most patients will only stay in the PACU for a few hours before returning home or to another department of the hospital. See also Anesthesia Intensive care unit Nurse anesthetist Operating department practitioner Anesthetic technician Aldrete 's scoring system External links Ketamine : Emergency Applications ( eMedicine.com ) - discusses laryngospasm. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Post-anesthesia_care_unit&oldid=817699452 '' Categories : Hospital departments Anesthesia Hidden categories : Articles lacking sources from May 2013 All articles lacking sources Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch فارسی Edit links This page was last edited on 30 December 2017, at 01 : 33. About Wikipedia

Question: what does pacu stand for in a hospital
Answer: post-anesthesia care unit