Vital Signs and Measurement Techniques

Anesthesia Technology Fundamentals II: Vital Signs

• Vital signs are routine medical assessments that determine internal body functions.
• Assessing vital signs is also known as assessing cardinal signs.
• Vital signs include body temperature, pulse, respiration, and blood pressure.

Body Temperature

• Body temperature reflects the balance between heat gain and heat loss within the body.
• It is measured in degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit.
• Normal body temperature range is 36.5–37.5 °C.
• Core temperature refers to the temperature of the body's deep tissues.
• The hypothalamus, a part of the brain, is responsible for maintaining homeostasis.
• Homeostasis helps to maintain a constant internal environment in the body.

Purposes for Measuring Body Temperature

• To establish baseline data for evaluation.
• To identify whether the core body temperature is within normal range.
• To determine changes in the core body temperature in response to therapies like antipyretic medications, immunosuppressive drugs, or invasive procedures.
• To monitor clients at risk for imbalanced body temperature, infection, or diagnosis of infection.

Types of thermometers

• Mercury-in-glass thermometers contain mercury inside a glass tube
• Oral thermometers have long, slender tips
• Rectal thermometers have short, rounded tips.
• Electronic thermometers provide readings in less than 60 seconds, most accurate if placed in sublingually but have a sensor at the end that touches body part
• Infrared thermometers include tympanic thermometers that measure the temperature inside the ear with readings within two seconds.

Temperature Measurement Sites

• Oral measurement is the most common site.
• Axilla measurement is mostly used in infants and children.
• Rectal measurement is the second choice.
• Tympanic membrane measurement is the most favorable site.
• Temporal measurement is used specially for pediatric groups.
• Other possible sites are: oral, rectal, axillary, tympanic membrane, temporal artery, esophageal, and pulmonary artery.

Temperature Variation

• The normal oral temperature is 98.6°F (37°C).
• Rectal temperature reads 0.5°F (0.3°C) to 1°F (0.6°C) higher than an oral temperature.
• Ear (tympanic) temperature measures 0.5°F (0.3°C) to 1°F (0.6°C) higher than oral temperature.

Factors Affecting Body Temperature

• Age influences temperature, children are more sensitive, elderly/infants sensitive to environmental change due to thermoregulation.
• Body temperature changes throughout the day.
• Highest body temperature is usually reached between 8 p.m. and 12 midnight.
• Lowest point is reached during sleep between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m.
• Exercise can change temperature.
• Women usually experience more hormone fluctuations, progesterone raises body temperature.
• Stress increases metabolic activity and heat production.
• The environment, ingestion of hot/cold liquids, and smoking can affect body temperature

Alterations in body temperature

• Pyrexia or fever is an increase in body temperature that exceeds normal daily variation. Febrile means with fever, while afebrile means without fever.
• Hypothermia is a decrease in core temperature below the normal limit.
• Hyperthermia is an elevated body temperature due to failed thermoregulation.

Pulse

• Pulse is a wave of blood generated by contraction of the left ventricle of the heart in whole body.
• Pulse is also referred to as the heart rate.
• Represents stroke ouput and teh amount of blood that enters arteries during ventral contration.
• Cardiac output is the volume of blood pumped into the arteries by the heart, stroke volume (SV) times the heart rate (HR) per minute.
• Is identified as a wave-like sensation palpated in a peripheral artery.
• In adults the heart contracts 60-100 times a minute and is faster in children and newborns.
• Consisting of Peripheral pulse thatis located periphery and Apical Pulse which is located at the apex of the heart
• Heart rate is the rate of heart beats per minute.

Pulse Rate Chart

• Babies to Age 1: 100-160 BPM
• Children ages 1-10: 60-140 BPM
• Children age 10+ and adults: 60-100 BPM
• Athletes: 40-60 BPM

Common Sites for taking Pulse

• Radial
• Brachial
• Carotid
• Femoral
• Popliteal
• Dorsalis Pedis
• Posterior Tibal

Factors Affect the Pulse Rate

• Age
• Sex
• Exercise
• Fever
• Medications
• Hemorrhage
• Stress
• Postion changes
• and Heart Disease
• High heart rate over 100 in adults is tachycardia, low hear rate in adults over 60 is called bradycardia
• Loss of blood from the vascular system increases pulse rate.
• The pulse rate increases when a person is sitting or standing, usually pooling blood in dependent vessels in the venous.
• Heart conditions or those that impair oxygenation can alter the resting pulse rate.

Characteristics of Pulse

• Pulse rate
• Pulse rhythm
• Pulse volume
• synqurenicity
• Rhythm refers to the pattern of beats and the intervals between the beats. Equal time between beats of a normal pulse, while irregular is referred to as dysrhythmia or arrhythmia.
• Volume is pulse strength or amplitude, relates to force of blood with each beat

Pulse Oximetry

• Is a noninvasive that estimates arterial blood oxygen saturation (SpO₂)
• Normal SpO2 85-100%; < 70% life threatening
• Used to Detect hypoxemia before clinical signs and symptoms
• Consisting of Sensor, photodetector, pulse oximeter unit
• Accuracy affected by the measurement of Hemoglobin level, Circulation, Activity and Carbon monoxide poisoning.

This quiz covers various aspects of vital signs assessment, including the cardiovascular system's response to stress, physiological changes during postural transitions, pulse rhythm irregularities, SpO2 readings, and factors affecting pulse oximetry accuracy. It also includes different types of thermometers, appropriate temperature ranges, and suitable patient groups.