Vital signs Flashcards
What are the Vital Signs?
- Temperature
- Pulse
- Respiration rate
- Blood pressure
- Oxygen saturation
It is a foundational, psychomotor skill for healthcare providers and students in health related programs.
Measurement of Vital Signs
Vital Signs are important indicators of …
Important indicators of the body’s physiologic status and reflect the function of internal organs
measurements provide information about a person’s overall state of healt
Vital signs
Purpose in obtaining vital signs
1, establish database of values
2. Assisting in a goal setting and treatment planning
3. Assisting with assessment
4. Contributing to assessment of effectiveness of treatment activities
General points to consider in vital sign measurement
- Therapeutic environment and consenr
- IPC
- Equipment
- Pain Assessment
- Always introduce yourself
Temperature refers to the..
Refers to the degree of heat or cold in an object or a human body
The body’s thermostat
Hypothalamus
Why is temperature measured?
Can determine state of health and influence clinical conditions
External sources of hyperthermia
Exposure to excessive heat (hot day, sauna, etc.)
Internal sources of hyperthermia
Fevers
Hypothermia refers to…
A lowered body temperature
External source of hypothermia
Exposed to the cold for a long period of time
Internal source of hypothermia
Sometimes purposefully induced curing surgery
Methods of measuring a client’s body temperature vary based on:
○ Developmental age
○ Cognitive functioning
○ Level of consciousness
○ State of health
○ Safety
Methods of temperature measurement include
oral, axillary, tympanic, rectal, temporal artery and dermal routes
Normal temperature rangers for adult
36.5-37.7 c or 97.7-99.5 f
Normal temperature for infants and young children
35.5.-37.7 c or 95.9-99.8 f
Normal oral temp
35..8-37.3
Normal axillary temp
34.8 - 36.3
Normal tympanic temp
36.1 - 37.9
Normal rectal temp
36.8 - 38.2
Other factors that influence temperature
- Diurnal rhythm
- Exercise
- Stress
- Menstrual cycle
- Pregnancy
It is the most common and reliable temp measurement because it is close to the sublingual artery.
Oral temp
is usually 0.3-0 6°C higher than an oral temperature
Tympanic temp
T or F: the tympanic membrane shares the same vascular artery that perfuses the hypothalamus
True
It is a minimally invasive way to measure temperature. It is commonly used in children.
Axillary temp
It is usually 1°C higher than oral temperature.
Rectal Temp
refers to a pressure wave that expands and recoils the artery when the heart contracts/beats.
Pulse
The most common locations to accurately assess pulse as part of vital sign measurement are
Radial, brachial, carotid, and apical
Normal adult pulse rate os
60-100 bpm
Newborn resting heart rate ranges from
100-175 bpm
T or F: Heart rate gradually decreases until young adulthood and then gradually increases again with age.
True
Newborn to 1 month normal bpm
100-175
1 month to 2 yrs
90-160 bpm
2 - 6 yo normal BPM
70-150 bpm
7 - 11 yo normal bpm
60 - 130 bpm
12 - 18 yo normal bpm
50-110 bpm
Adult and older adult pulse rate
60-100 bpm
refers to an elevated heart rate, typically above 100 bpm for an adult.
Tachycardia
a condition in which the resting heart rate drops below 60 bpm in adults
Bradychardia
What are the qualities of pulse that are assessed?
- Pulse rhythm
- Pulse equality
- Pulse rate
- Pulse force
the frequency of the pulsation felt by your fingers follows an even tempo with equal intervals between pulsations.
Pulse rhythm
the strength of the pulsation felt when palpating the pulse.
Pulse force
Important to assess because it reflects the volume of blood, heart functioning and cardiac output and arteries elastic properties
Pulse force
refers to whether the pulse force is comparable on both sides of the body.
Pulse equality
Refers to a person’s breathing and the movement of air into and out of the lungs.
Respiration
The process that causes air to enter lungs
Inspiration
Inspiration is initiated by
Contraction of the diaphragm and intercostal muscles
The process that causes air to leave the lungs
Expiration
The passive process of the respiratory cycle
Expiration
Parameters of respiration assessment
Quality and rhythm
newborn - 1 month normal resp rate
30-65 breaths pm
1 month - 1yo normal resp rate
26 - 60 breaths pm
1 - 10 yo norm resp rate
14 - 50 breaths pm
11 - 18 normal resp rate
12 - 22 resp rate
Adult - older adult normal resp rate
10-20 breaths pm
Refers to a percentage of hemoglobin molecules saturated with oxygen
Oxygen saturation
Oxygen saturation provides
information about how much hemoglobin is carrying oxygen, compared to how much hemoglobin is not carrying oxygen
insufficient oxygen in the blood is called
Hypoxemia
normal oxygen saturation level is
97-100%
the force of blood exerted against the arterial walls, reported in millimeters of mercury
Blood pressure
maximum pressure on the arteries during left ventricular contractions
Systolic pressure
the resting pressure on the arteries between each cardiac contraction when the heart’s chambers are filling with blood
Diastolic pressure
the amount of blood ejected from the left ventricle in a single contraction.
Stroke volume
the difference between the systolic and diastolic values and signifies the force required by the heart each time it contracts
Pulse pressure
Blood pressure increases with
increased Cardiac output
Blood pressure decreases with
Decreased cardiac output
appear after you inflate the cuff (which compresses the artery/blood flow) and then begin to deflate the cuff.
Korotkoff sounds
Normal adult bp (19-40yo)
95-135 over 60-80
Normal adult bp (41-60)
110-145 over 70-80
Phase 1 korotkoff
Clear tapping sound
Phase 2 korotkoff sound
‘Mumur’ - Onset of swishing sound or surf murmur
Phase 3 korotkoff
‘Slap’ -Loud slapping sound
Phase 4 korotkoff
‘Muffle’ - Sudden muffling sound
Phase 5 korotkoff
‘Silence’ - Disappearance of sound/ phase of silence
