- VITAL SIGNS importance of measuring vital signs:
- VITAL SIGNS importance of measuring vital signs:
1) Establish a baseline on admission to a cline hospital, pebably an encounter with a health care provider.
2) identity ay type of abnormalities in te potiena'sAA
3) Establishing if the current treatment that is being provided is showing the desired effects of the medications.
4) watching patients for changes in th on recognizing early clinical deterioration and pro
5) Detection and re fcha rees in ese vital signs are esemial delays in initiating appropriat ent can detrimentally amet the patient's outcome
6) Indication of harmul egic changes in the body and also an o stable condition
7) Baseline measurements are important fer comparison with future ones Reveal sudden or gradually progressive changes.
Core body temperature represents balance between heat production and heat loss,
Types of Thermometers:
Mercury In Glass Thermometer.
Tympanic membrane thermometer
Advantages of tymoanic thermometer:
- Detect thermal infrared energy from tympanic membrane.
- Accurate.
- Minimal invasive. Records within 3 seconds.
- No direct contact with mucous membrane.
3) Electronic Thermometers This device changes its resistance with changes in t A computer or other circuit measures the resistance and convert it to a temperature either to display it or to make decisions about turning.
4) single use thermometers
- Plastic strip with matrix of dots arranged to correspond temp in degrees
- Dots contain 2 heat sensitive chemicals that changes color in response to temp. oral 1 min axillary, rectal 3min.
Problems with oral thermometer accuracy:
- Tachypnea
- Drinking ice water
- Hot drinks
- Smoking
PULSE
- Counting pulse waves
- Superficial Arteries
- Rhythm
- Strength=Volume
- 0= absent
- +1=thready
- +2=weak
- 3- normal
- 4+-bounding.
- Normal resting 60-100 bpm
- Tachycardia > 100 bpm.
- Bradycardia < 60 bpm.
- Endurance athletic trainers have resting heart rate=40bpm.
Factors Affecting Pulse
- 1- Time of day:Lower in the morning.
- 2- Gender after puberty lowered 7-8 beat males than females.
- 3- Taller slim is slower than heavy short
- 4- Exercises acutely
- 5- Fear, Anger, pain, increase body temp dehydration, anemia, excessive blood loss.
Respiratory Rate
- Number of breathes or cycle of inspiration and expiration is completed
- Pt should be inactive 5 min.
- Comfortable position
- Adult female 16- 20 while adult male 14- 18 breathes per min.
- Tachypnea > 20
- Bradypnea< 10.
Blood Pressure
- It is defined as The pressure exerted by the blood on the arterial wall. Determined by
- 1- Contractile force of left ventricle.( reflect heart contraction)
- 2- Stroke volume amount of blood)
- 3- Resistance of blood vessels to flow.( presence of obstruction to blood flow)
- Systolic BP: Maximum ventricular contractile force
- Diastolic BP: Minimum pressure during relaxation and ventricular filling
- Normal is 120/80 mmhg.
Pulse pressure
- The pressure that is felt when feeling the pulse. Measured i millimeters of mercury(mmHg), the difference between stolic and pressure diastolic pressures is the pressure change to create the pulse, which is the pulse pressure. If resting bl pressures(systolic diastolic) 120/80 millimeters of mercury(mmHg), pressure 40.
- A pulse pressure is considered abnormally low if it is less than 25% of the systolic value.
- low stroke volume, as in Co Heart Failure and/or shock.
- A narrow pulse pressure is also caused by aortic valve stenosis and cardiac tamponade
- The pulse pressure increases exercise due to increased stroke volume
- Adult cuff 12-13 e and 22-23 cm length.
- Pt should be seated or supine in comfortable position.
- Avoid exercising, smoking caffeine intake 30 minutes isometric contraction crossing legs
- Normal:120/80 mmhg.
Factors Affecting Blood Pressure
- Age: newborn: 70 mmhg
- 10- 19 years: 124/136 mmhg m-84.
- Gender: Women have lower BP than men.
- Exercises: Physical exertion increase acutely decrease resting BP by time
- Position: Orthostatic hypotension(20 at sys& 10 in dia)
- Medications
- sympathetic stimulation: fear, pain, stress, anxiety.
- Diurnal variation: Lowered at morning and peaks at afternoon Fever, Heat, cold
- Smoking vasoconstriction 15 min.
- Race, Ethnicity: African American.
Contraindications for Measuring BP
- Breast or axillary surgery.
- Blood transfusion.
- IV line
- Arteriovenous fistula as in renal dialysis
Oxygen saturation
- It is known as arterial oxygen saturation Sao2
