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Revision as of 23:52, 18 February 2007

This article is about vital signs in medicine. For other uses of the term, see Vital signs (disambiguation).

Vital signs are 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. Temperature examination for normal temperature.
  2. Pulse rate (or heart rate).
  3. Blood pressure.
  4. Respiratory rate.

The equipment needed is a thermometer, a sphygmomanometer, and a watch.

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.

Other sources include pulse oximetry as their fifth sign.

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:

See also

References

  1. http://www.asahq.org/Newsletters/2004/11_04/lte11_04.html
  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.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  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.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. Neff T (1988). "Routine oximetry. A fifth vital sign?". Chest. 94 (2): 227. PMID 3396392.
  5. Joseph A (2003). "Continence: the sixth vital sign?". Am J Nurs. 103 (7): 11. PMID 12865635.
  6. 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.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. Bultz B, Carlson L (2006). "Emotional distress: the sixth vital sign--future directions in cancer care". Psychooncology. 15 (2): 93–5. PMID 16444764. link
  8. http://www.ohsu.edu/medicine/residency/handouts/0405handouts/COPD091304.ppt
  9. http://www.medicine.uiowa.edu/cme/about/documents/PrintHandout.ppt
  10. Bierman A (2001). "Functional status: the sixth vital sign". J Gen Intern Med. 16 (11): 785–6. PMID 11722694. link

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