Vital Signs: Introduction and Body Temperature

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Study Notes

Vital signs are essential for monitoring a client's health status.
Vital signs include body temperature, pulse, respiration, and blood pressure.
Vital signs are measured to obtain baseline data upon admission, on a routine schedule, before and after invasive procedures, when there is a change in health status, before and after surgery, before and after medications that affect the cardiovascular or respiratory system, and before and after nursing interventions that may affect vital signs.

Body temperature is the reflection of the balance between heat produced and heat lost from the body.
Core temperature is the temperature of deep tissues like the abdominal and pelvic cavities.
Surface temperature is the temperature of the skin, subcutaneous tissue, and fat.
Heat balance occurs when heat produced equals heat lost.

Basal metabolic rate (BMR): Younger individuals have a higher metabolic rate.
Muscle activity: Muscle activity, including shivering, increases the metabolic rate.
Thyroxine: Increased thyroxine output increases the rate of cellular metabolism.
Epinephrine, norepinephrine, and sympathetic stimulation/stress response: Stress hormones elevate metabolism.
Fever: Fever increases cellular metabolism and body temperature.

Normal oral body temperature ranges between 36.5° and 37.5°C (97.6° and 99.6°F).
To convert Fahrenheit to Centigrade: C= (F-32) X 5/9
To convert Centigrade to Fahrenheit: F=(C X 9/5)+32

The hypothalamus in the brain acts as the body's thermostat.
When the hypothalamus senses an increase in temperature, it triggers sweating and vasodilation to decrease temperature.
When the hypothalamus senses a decrease in temperature, it triggers shivering and vasoconstriction to increase temperature.
This helps maintain homeostasis, a state of dynamic equilibrium.

Age: Infants are highly susceptible to environmental temperature changes.
Older adults: Individuals over 75 are at risk for hypothermia due to factors like inadequate diet, reduced subcutaneous fat, lack of activity, and reduced thermoregulatory efficiency.
Diurnal variations: Body temperature changes throughout the day, peaking in the late afternoon and reaching its lowest during sleep.