VITAL SIGNS

Vital Access to the Patients True Condition

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Vital Signs

• Vital signs are an outward clue to what is going on in the patient’s body

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Vital Signs

• Baseline Vital Signs provide a starting point to evaluate the status of a patients condition

• A tool for the EMT and other medical professionals to monitor changes within the patients condition

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Vital Signs

• It is important to monitor “trends” in Vital Signs rather than individual sets of Vital Signs

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Pulse

• Pulse Points

Carotid

Brachial

Radial

FemoralPopliteal

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Pulse

• Pulse Points

Dorsal Pedal

Posterior Tibial

(Posterior and slightly inferior to medial Malleolus)

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Pulse

• Normal Rate – Adult

• 60-80 Beats/minute– Child

• 80-110 Beats/minute– Infant

• 120-150 Beats/minute

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Pulse

• Rhythm– Regular– Irregular– Irregularly Irregular

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Pulse

• Quality– Full– Weak (Thready)– Bounding

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Respirations

• Rate– Adult

• 12-24 Resp/min– Child

• 20-28 Resp/min

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Respirations

• Rate– Infant

• 30-70 Resp/min @ birth• 30 Resp/min @ 6 months

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Respirations

• Rhythm– Regular– Irregular– Fast– Slow

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Respiration

• Quality– Full – Deep– Shallow– Noisy

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Blood Pressure

• Systolic - Pressure on the arterial wall when the heart contracts

• Diastolic - Pressure on the arterial wall when the heart is at rest

• Coronary Arteries are opposite

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Blood Pressure

• Auscultated BP - Listening for both the systolic and diastolic values

• Palpated BP - Feeling for the systolic pressure

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Auscultated Blood Pressure

• Adult– Male

• 100+ Age (up to 50)» 80

– Female• 90 + Age (up to 50)

» 80

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Auscultated Blood Pressure

• Child• 94 - 100• 56 - 64

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Auscultated Blood Pressure

• Infant– At Birth

• 60 - 80• 40 - 76

– At 6 Months• 90 • 40-76

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Estimating Blood Pressure

• Radial Pulse Present? – >80 Systolic

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Estimating Blood Pressure

• Femoral Pulse Present?– >70 Systolic– <80 Systolic

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Estimating Blood Pressure

• Carotid Pulse Present?– >60 Systolic– <70 Systolic

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Don’t Loose Focus

• Treat the patient not the machine

Any Questions?