Vital signs Flashcards
What are the 6 vitals signs
temperature
pulse rate
respiratory rate
oxygen saturation
blood pressure
ACVPU
why are the vital signs important
can be used to assess and monitor a patients condition
what is NEWS
national early warning socre
scoring system used to aid recognition of acutely ill patients
higher socre=worse condition
what is normal body temp
36-37.5
what is pyrexia
what is it caused by
fever, over 37.5
Infections, inflammatory conditions, autoimmune disorders, medications,
environment, malignancy, metabolic
what is hypothermia
what is it caused by
less than 35
* Primary hypothermia secondary to
environment
* Secondary hypothermia secondary to
abnormal event/disease process .eg
sepsis, trauma, MI
what is normal resting pulse rate
how can this differ in athletes
60-100bpm
commonly lower
what is tachycardia
what is it caused by
more than 100bpm
Anxiety, exercise, fever,
medication, hypovolaemia,
cardiac conditions, metabolic/endocrine condition
what is bradycardia
what is it caused by
less than 60bpm
Athletes, medication, heart
block, raised intracranial
pressure
how is pulse rate measured
what 4 things do you look for when measuring pulse
- rate
- rhythm
- volume
- character
what is normal respiratory rate
12-20 breaths/min
what is tachypnoea
what is it caused by
rate higher than normal limit
Primary respiratory
conditions, Acute illness, Cardiac conditions, Pain,
Anxiety, Exercise, Fever
what is bradypnoea
what is it caused by
Rate lower than normal limit
Head injury/CNS
depression,
Sedation, Opioids
how is respiratory rate measured
what is the normal pattern of respiration
what is peak flow and why do we measure it
how is peak flow measured
how do you measure oxygen saturation
pulse oximetry probe
how does a pulse oximetry probe work
monitors the % of haemoglobin in arterial blood that is oxygen saturated
what is normal oxygen saturation
more than or equal to 96%
patients at risk of hypercapnia have oxygen saturations of what
which patients are at riks of hypercapnia
88-92%
COPD, some neuromuscular disorders, morbid obesity
what is normal blood pressure
120/80mmHg
how do we measure blood pressure
how might you act on an abnormal blood pressure reading
explain how you measure blood pressure
- Explain procedure and obtain consent
- Apply correct size cuff
- Palpate radial or brachial pulse
- Inflate cuff til pulse disappears- this is estimated systolic pressure
- Deflate cuff fully. Re-inflate cuff to 20-30mmHg above estimated pressure
- Place diaphragm of stethoscope over brachial pulse. Deflate cuff at 2mmHg/second listening for first sounds (systolic pressure)
- Continue to slowly deflate til sounds disappear (diastolic pressure)
what is the capillary refill test used for
to assess the amount of blood flow to tissues
explain the capillary refill time test
- Apply pressure to the nail bed for 5 secs
- As blood is forced from the tissue it turns white (blanches)
- Release the pressure and count how long in seconds it take
for the tissue to turn pink. - Delayed return is an indication dehydration/shock
what is ACVPU
scale used to assess a patient’s consciousness level
what does ACVPU stand for
Alert- pt fully awake, eyes open and orientated to time person and place, able to follow commands
Confusion- pt awake but signs of acute/new confusion, may not be orientated to time person or place
Voice - eyes don’t open spontaneously but open to verbal stimuli
Pain- pt doesn’t respond to voice but responds to physical stimulus, by opening their eyes or calling out - first shake and shout then use painful stimulus e.g. squeeze shoulder
Unresponsive- pt doesn’t respond to any stimuli
