Despite its importance, respiration rates are being found to be documented less often that any other vital sign. . This may be due to inadequete understanding of the physiology of respiratory rate and the potential problems that an increased or decreased respiratory rate could mean. (Ansell, Meyer & Thompson 2014). Respiratory rate remains the only vital sign taken manually, without a machine, which could also contribute to why it is inconsistantly taken. Respiratory rate is a highly sensitive marker of patients’ conditions and of early signs of deterioration, and their assessment can help health practitioners detect subtle changes in patients’ physiology and reduce the risk of multi-organ damage, arrest or death. (Smith et al 2011, Cretikos
2.7 Monitoring physiological measurements it´s important to make sure the individual health status and also necessary after surgery, as patients in intensive care units require continuous monitoring, and sometimes have medications that requires physical measurements taken. These are measurements we take to ensure that they are functioning in the way they are supposed to. When we carry out physiological measurements, such as measuring temperature, pulse and respiration, we are monitoring for signs of abnormality. Then be able to draw conclusions about the health status of the individual and any treatments they may
The following case study is of a 37-year old Hispanic male weighing 145 lbs and 70 inches tall found unconscious by his girlfriend. According to her he was unconscious for about 15 hours and she was concerned because he would not wake or respond and was breathing shallow and slow. She then called 9-1-1. The patient entered the ER by emergency vehicle and on my initial assessment Pt had an altered mental status, was very unresponsive showing symptoms of a possible drug overdose. The girlfriend told the physician the Pt had taken 75 mg of methadone and an unknown amount of Xanex and other amounts of Benzodiazepines. On assessment, the doctor noticed his altered mental status and unconscious status. He had a gag
Use of daily spontaneous breathing trials to assess the patient’s ability to sustain ventilation, oxygenation, and breathing.
Breathing Rate 2.6 2.9 3 2.8 TV(L) 2.9 3 2.9 2.9 Resting Values ERV(L) IRV(L) 3.9 4.3 4.3 4.2 5.5 5.9 5.9 5.8 RV(L) 3.4 3.6 3.7 3.6 Breathing Rate 2.2 2.3 2.3 2.3 TV(L) 4 4.3 4.4 4.2 Exercising Values ERV(L) IRV(L) 5.6 5.9 6 5.8 6.2 5.3 6.7 6.1 RV(L) 42.2 50.2 49.5 47.3
I hold a copy of this assignment that I can produce if the original is lost or damaged.
- Assess the frequency and depth of breathing. Tachypnea and shallow breathing often occurs because of the movement of the chest wall and the lung fluid.
Gathering observations of patients is a vital task that all Nurses must complete on a regular basis, they include Blood pressure, respiration rate, pulse, temperature and oxygen saturation. The information gathered from the observations enable for warnings when a patient is deteriorating
As a paramedic, midwife, nurse or other medical professional, it is one's responsibility to gain a full scope of understanding as to the patient's immediate medical condition. Essential to this process is checking the individual's vital signs for indicators of stability, trauma, chronic conditions or signs of imminent concerns. Because factors as important as diagnosis and course of treatment may be shaped by this information, recording vital signs is time sensitive, calls for accuracy and should be accompanied by communicative bedside manner where appropriate. This latter factor is especially important in making connections between occurrences in a patient's vital signs and feelings or experiences that the patient can describe. In the course of this term's applied lessons, I gained a great deal of experience checking temperature and blood pressure in patients. The discussion here measures my own experiences against the existing standards and procedures in practice today.
These discoveries prompted change and allowed the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), to set standards to reduce unnecessary detriment to patients. Many tools were introduced to assist in the consistency and accuracy of observations of patients’ physiological conditions. ViEWS (VitalPac Early Warning Score) is a standardized and high-tech scoring system that helps recognize and respond to deteriorating patients. It is the basis of the newest warning system, appropriately named National Early Warning System or NEWS (Featherstone, Prytherch, Schmidt & Smith, 2010).
C. Explain the normal function of the respiratory and cardiovascular system by doing the following:
-Trachea- Connects the larynx to the bronchi of the lungs in order to let air flow from the lungs to then respire.
We decided to measure the subject’s pulse and respiratory rates whilst sitting down because there would be no additional stress on their heart, which would increase their heart rate. Their heart rate should also return to its resting heart rate due to the decrease of muscle use.
Vital signs are a fundamental component of nursing care and indicate the body’s ability to maintain blood flow, regulate temperature and regulate oxygenate the body tissue. Taking vital signs are essential in revealing any sudden changes in the body, which could potentially indicate clinical deterioration of the patient.
What is respiratory muscular weakness? According to Tecklin, respiratory muscular weakness is a condition or disorder affecting any part in the chain of command in the neuromuscular process that produces a contraction of the respiratory musculature. This process can vary in severity from mild to irreversible. The mild and transient conditions can be treated with physical therapy interventions. The more serve cases include irreversible damage to the respiratory musculature leading to the patient being dependent on a ventilator to breath.
Peak expiratory flowing rate or PEFR is the highest rate of air flowing out when a person performs a forced breath out. PEFR is measured in very short period time; usually, the rate of air flow is estimated simultaneously when he or she breathes out. The most significant factor influencing PEFR is how much bronchial airways are obstructed. PEFR also depends on other factors such as height, age and gender. Thus, PEFR is not an absolute indicator to determine airway resistance; hence, it is imperative to assess PEFR values with respect to all factors. (Generally, it implies that) the results obtained from tests need to be considered within an appropriate range of height and age in which people belongs to.