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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
Femoral
Popliteal
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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?
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