There are fewer indicators of overall health and wellness than the state of a person’s vital signs. Whether they are collected routinely during a physical examination in a doctor’s office, or they are taken at the scene of an automobile accident, vital signs are the gateway to how a person’s body is reacting in a given moment.
What are Vital Signs and What Do They Include?
The type of vital signs that are recorded vary amongst health practitioners. For example, if a first responder is responding to an automobile accident on the highway, they might not have special equipment that is necessary to read vital signs, such as pulse oximetry. But they can take a pulse and record the number of respirations the patient is breathing in and out. Here is a list of vital signs that are typically taken manually by a health practitioner without any electronic equipment.
Pulse
First responders, first aiders, and other responsive health practitioners will almost always search for a pulse on patient; whether they are conscious or unconscious. The pulse represents how fast or slow, strong or weak the heart is beating and provides valuable information to the first responder and the doctors or nurses who will eventually interact with that patient.
Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is recorded during a first responder incident with a sphygmomanometer (BP cuff), and a stethoscope. This information is used to determine any stress on the heart and how strong the heart is beating. It can indicate a drop in blood volume, and it can indicate the presence of shock in a patient.
Respirations
Checking the rate at which a patient is breathing and how difficult or easy that breathing is, is important to a patient’s overall health. Shallow breaths or deep breaths mean different things, and first responders can use this information to help determine underlying injuries.
Temperature
The body’s core temperature can change when a patient is suffering from an infection or illness. Temperature is regularly checked to ensure the “situation” has not gotten worse, along with the blood pressure and other vital signs.
In a clinical setting, or if a more advanced first responder, such as a paramedic arrives on the scene of an accident, they will have access to electrical equipment that will measure different vital signs through probes and pads that will be placed on the body. These machines typically measure the following vital signs.
Pulse Oximetry
This is a vital sign that is tested to determine how much oxygen is getting through the bloodstream. This is important for patients who have experienced injury or illness and a lack of oxygenated blood flow could result in permanent damage to the brain, organs and overall health of the patient.
Non-Invasive Blood Pressure (NIBP)
This is a form of measuring the vital sign continuously. It’s not just recorded once and then forgotten about. The non-invasive blood pressure cuffs on electronic vital sign machines help to give a more accurate picture of the patient’s health.
Invasive Blood Pressure (IBP)
This procedures is typically done in a clinic or during surgery and involves much more skill in order to get a more accurate reading of the inside of the arteries themselves. An arterial catheter is inserted into the body to determine the blood pressure from inside.
Heart Rate
The pulse oximeter will also read the pulse, not just the amount of oxygen in the blood. This allows health practitioners to follow the health of the heart; in some cases, patients will be fitted with pads that are placed directly on the chest near the heart to determine the heart rate.
Reach out to Orion Medical today. Our industry-leading experts can answer questions and provide professional training and implementation. Proper and thorough medical device training is the difference in life and death situations.
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