Vital signs

(Redirected from Vital signs (medicine))
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Vital signs

WikiDoc Resources for Vital signs

Articles

Most recent articles on Vital signs

Most cited articles on Vital signs

Review articles on Vital signs

Articles on Vital signs in N Eng J Med, Lancet, BMJ

Media

Powerpoint slides on Vital signs

Images of Vital signs

Photos of Vital signs

Podcasts & MP3s on Vital signs

Videos on Vital signs

Evidence Based Medicine

Cochrane Collaboration on Vital signs

Bandolier on Vital signs

TRIP on Vital signs

Clinical Trials

Ongoing Trials on Vital signs at Clinical Trials.gov

Trial results on Vital signs

Clinical Trials on Vital signs at Google

Guidelines / Policies / Govt

US National Guidelines Clearinghouse on Vital signs

NICE Guidance on Vital signs

NHS PRODIGY Guidance

FDA on Vital signs

CDC on Vital signs

Books

Books on Vital signs

News

Vital signs in the news

Be alerted to news on Vital signs

News trends on Vital signs

Commentary

Blogs on Vital signs

Definitions

Definitions of Vital signs

Patient Resources / Community

Patient resources on Vital signs

Discussion groups on Vital signs

Patient Handouts on Vital signs

Directions to Hospitals Treating Vital signs

Risk calculators and risk factors for Vital signs

Healthcare Provider Resources

Symptoms of Vital signs

Causes & Risk Factors for Vital signs

Diagnostic studies for Vital signs

Treatment of Vital signs

Continuing Medical Education (CME)

CME Programs on Vital signs

International

Vital signs en Espanol

Vital signs en Francais

Business

Vital signs in the Marketplace

Patents on Vital signs

Experimental / Informatics

List of terms related to Vital signs

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]


Vital signs are measures of various physiological statistics often taken by health professionals in order to assess the most basic body functions. Vital signs are an essential part of a case presentation.

Primary four

There are four vital signs which are standard in most medical settings:

  1. Body Temperature
  2. Pulse rate (or heart rate)
  3. Blood pressure
  4. Respiratory rate

The equipment needed is a thermometer, a sphygmomanometer, and a watch with a second hand.

Though a pulse can often be taken by hand, a stethoscope may be required for a patient with a very weak pulse.

Additional signs

Fifth sign

The phrase "fifth vital sign" usually refers to pain, as perceived by the patient on a Pain scale of 0-10. For example, the Veterans Administration made this their policy in 1999. However, some doctors have noted that pain is actually a subjective symptom, not an objective sign, and therefore object to this classification.[1]

Other sources include pulse oximetry as their fifth sign.[2][3][4]

Some sources consider pupil size, equality, and reactivity to light to be a vital sign as well.[5]

Sixth sign

There is no standard "sixth vital sign", and the use is much more informal and discipline-dependent than with the above, but some proposals (excluding the fifth sign candidates above) include:

Variations by age

Children and infants have respiratory and heart rates that are faster than those of adults as shown in the following table:

Age Normal heart rate
(beats per minute)[12]
Normal respiratory rate
(breaths per minute)[13]
Newborn 200-260 30-50
0-5 months 90-190 25-40
6-12 months 80-140 20-30
1-3 years 80-130 20-30
3-5 years 80-120 20-30
6-10 years 70-110 15-30
11-14 years 60-105 12-20
14+ years 60-100 12-20

See also

References

  1. Harold S. Lee. November 2004. Physical Diagnosis 101: A Lesson From the First Year of Medical School, in Letters to the Editor. American Society of Anesthesiologists, Volume 68, Number 11.
  2. Mower W, Myers G, Nicklin E, Kearin K, Baraff L, Sachs C (1998). "Pulse oximetry as a fifth vital sign in emergency geriatric assessment". Acad Emerg Med. 5 (9): 858–65. PMID 9754497.
  3. Mower W, Sachs C, Nicklin E, Baraff L (1997). "Pulse oximetry as a fifth pediatric vital sign". Pediatrics. 99 (5): 681–6. PMID 9113944.
  4. Neff T (1988). "Routine oximetry. A fifth vital sign?". Chest. 94 (2): 227. PMID 3396392.
  5. Daniel Limmer and Michael F. O'Keefe. 2005. Emergency Care 10th ed. Edward T. Dickinson, Ed. Pearson, Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Page 212 and 218.
  6. Joseph A (2003). "Continence: the sixth vital sign?". Am J Nurs. 103 (7): 11. PMID 12865635.
  7. Vardi A, Levin I, Paret G, Barzilay Z (2000). "The sixth vital sign: end-tidal CO2 in pediatric trauma patients during transport". Harefuah. 139 (3–4): 85–7, 168. PMID 10979461.
  8. Bultz B, Carlson L (2006). "Emotional distress: the sixth vital sign--future directions in cancer care". Psychooncology. 15 (2): 93–5. PMID 16444764. link
  9. http://www.ohsu.edu/medicine/residency/handouts/0405handouts/COPD091304.ppt
  10. http://www.medicine.uiowa.edu/cme/about/documents/PrintHandout.ppt
  11. Bierman A (2001). "Functional status: the sixth vital sign". J Gen Intern Med. 16 (11): 785–6. PMID 11722694. link
  12. Emergency Care, Page 214
  13. Emergency Care, Page 215

Template:Nursing

Template:Skin and subcutaneous tissue symptoms and signs Template:Nervous and musculoskeletal system symptoms and signs Template:Urinary system symptoms and signs Template:Cognition, perception, emotional state and behaviour symptoms and signs Template:Speech and voice symptoms and signs Template:General symptoms and signs

Template:WH Template:WS