H.A VITAL SIGNS

• VITAL SIGNS


  Indicators of effectiveness of circulatory, respiratory, neural, and endocrine body functions
• PURPOSE OF VITAL SIGNS

  • To assess current health status of the patient

  • To provide data to determine a patient’s usual

  state of health.

  • To have a baseline data (initial data when the

  patient comes to ER)
• Normal Blood Pressure

  120/80
• bradycardia


  low pulse rate
• tachycardia


  high pulse rate
• Normal Pulse Rate

  60-100 bpm
• Hypertension


  Increase in blood pressure
• Hypotension


  Decrease in blood pressure
• normal respiratory rate

  12-20
• TACHYPNEA


  Increase in respiratory rate
• BRADYPNEA

  Decrease in respiratory rate
• Hyperthermia

  Increase in Temp
• Hypothermia


  Decrease in temp
• Measuring vital signs is the nurse’s responsibility.
• Know the patient’s usual range of vital signs.
• Know patient’s medical history, therapies, and prescribed medications.
• Use an organized, systematic approach.
• how often do we take vital signs?

  • Usually 2 hours, 4 hours, 3 hours
  • depends on the status of the patient
  • when the patient changes status
  • before doing procedures
  • pre and post blood transfusion
• BODY TEMPERATURE


  Difference between amount of heat produces by body processes and the amount lost to the external environment.
• body temperature

  Heat produced – heat loss
• CORE TEMPERATURE


  Temperature of deep tissues
• SURFACE TEMPERATURE


  Depends on blood flow to the skin and the amount of heat loss to the external environment.
• FACTORS AFFECT THE BODY’S HEAT PRODUCTION.

  Basal metabolic rate


  The rate of energy utilization in the body is required to maintain essential activities such as breathing.
• FACTORS AFFECT THE BODY’S HEAT PRODUCTION.

  Muscle Activity


  Uncluding shivering increases the metabolic rate
• FACTORS AFFECT THE BODY’S HEAT PRODUCTION.

  Thyroxine output


  It increases the rate of cellular metabolism throughout the body
• FACTORS AFFECT THE BODY’S HEAT PRODUCTION.

  Stress


  It immediately increases the rate of cellular metabolism in many body tissues
• FACTORS AFFECT THE BODY’S HEAT PRODUCTION.

  Fever

  increases the cellular metabolic rate and thus increases the body’s temperature further.
• FACTORS AFFECTING BODY TEMPERATURE


  Age

  ▪ Exercise

  ▪ Hormonal level

  ▪ Circadian Rhythm

  ▪ Stress

  ▪ Environment

  ▪ Temperature Alterations
• Infants


  Greatly influenced by the temperature of the environment and must be protected from extreme changes.
• Older Adults


  Sensitive to temperature extremes because of deterioration in control mechanisms, particularly poor vasomotor control, reduced sweat gland activity and reduced metabolism.
• Increase metabolism- icrease heat production- increase body temperature
• Women generally experience greater fluctuations in body temperature than men.
• CIRCADIAN RHYTHM

  • Between 1:00-4:00 am: body temperature usually at its lowest
  • During the day, body temperature rises steadily to a maximum temperature value at about 4:00 pm
• physical and emotional stress increases body temperature through hormonal and neural stimulation - increases metabolism - increase heat production
• Warm room/ environment

  Increased Temp
• Cold room/ environment

  decreased temperature
• Fever/ Pyrexia

  • Heat loss mechanism are unable to keep pace with excessive heat production.
  • Important defense mechanism
• Hyperpyrexia

  • High fever such as 41 degree
• Intermittent fever

  Body temp alternates at regular intervals between periods of fever and period of subnormal temperature
• Remittent fever

  Such as with cold or influenza, a wide range of temperature fluctuations occurs over a 24-hour period.