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patient assessment

What are Vital Signs?

Vital signs are measurements of the body's most basic functions. Vital signs are useful in detecting or monitoring medical problems. Vital signs can be measured in a medical setting, at home, at the site of a medical emergency, or elsewhere.

Checking a Patient's Vital Signs

Fully alert patient. This type of patient will have open eyes and will be fully awake.

• What is your name?

• Do you know where you are?

• What time of the day is it (morning, afternoon, evening)?

If the patient is able to answer, they are alert. If they answer but answers are far off, they are Voice!

Patient will respond when you speak to him or her, and may respond with a grunt, or moan when asked to move a limb.

Patient responds to pain. You may cause pain stimulus by pinching the back of the patients hand. Such stimuli may get a response.

Patient does not respond to any stimulus.

The pulse rate can be assessed by palpation when an artery is just under the skin.

The normal pulse rate of an adult at rest is 60 to 100 beats per min (BPM)

Artery

Location

Radial

Wrist

Carotid

Neck

Count the persons pulse for 30 seconds & multiply by 2 to get the minute rate. If irregular, count for a full minute to get a more accurate rate.

When assessing for a pulse rate, consider the following -

Rate: number of beats per minute
Rhythm: regular or irregular
Quality: strong or weak?

Type of Pulse

Indicates

Rapid, Regular, Strong

Emotion, heat, exercise, anxiety

Fast, Weak

Heart Failure. Shock from blood loss

Slow

Head Injury, poisoning, heart dysfunction

No Pulse

Cardiac Arrest

The breathing rate can be assessed by look, listen & feel.

For ease of observation, you may put their own hand on the chest.

When assessing for a breathing rate, consider:
Rate: number of breaths per minute
Rhythm: regular or irregular?
Quality: deep or shallow?

Count the persons breaths for 30 seconds & multiply by 2 to get the minute rate.

If irregular, count for a full minute to get a more accurate rate.

Patient

Rate

Adult

12 - 20 Breaths per min

Child

14 - 30 Breaths per min

Infant

30 - 60 Breaths per min

  • Head tilt
  • Chin lift

Feel, listen and look for breathing for min 5 and max 10 seconds.

  • Call 999/112 for EMS
  • Call for an AED if required
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