GE Dash 2500 Operator's Manual page 118

9-8
ECG: Indications and Contraindications
3. Prepare the patient's skin for the electrodes. The following suggestions may
be helpful in making sure that the electrodes have good contact with the
skin:
Shave the hair from each electrode site.
Cleanse each site with alcohol to remove skin oils.
Use mild abrasion to reduce the impedance between the skin and the
electrode. To do this, briskly rub each site with a gauze pad.
If the patient is diaphoretic, dry the electrode site thoroughly so the
adhesive pad will adhere to the skin. If the electrode site cannot be kept
dry, you can apply an antiperspirant spray and a thin coat of tincture of
benzoin to the peripheral area. Do not apply the spray and tincture to
the surface of the skin where you intend to place the gel area of the
electrode.
4. Connect the lead wires to the electrodes. (Refer to the table for the IEC and
AHA color-coding of lead wires.)
CAUTION
Before making any connections, inspect all cables, lead wires,
and connectors to ensure that they are not damaged or
significantly worn.
5. Following your hospital's or physician's protocol, apply each electrode to
the patient at the appropriate site.
CAUTION
Before applying the electrodes, check the expiration date.
6. Plug the free end of each lead wire into the proper color-coded receptacle in
the patient cable block.
7. Plug the connector end of the cable into the ECG connector on the side of
the Monitor. Look at the ECG primary waveform located at the top of the
display. Verify that no other messages are displayed above the waveform
after the initial LEARNING message is removed. Verify that ECG is the source
of the HR/Pulse value.
8. Following your hospital's or physician's protocol, support the cable and the
cable block so that their weight does not stress the connections to the
patient.
9. Choose ECG from the Setup parameters option in the Main Menu and set
up the desired monitoring parameters.
10. Discard the single-use electrode after monitoring.
Dash 2500 Patient Monitor 2042480-001 C