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The Assessment and Interpretation of Vital Signs

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Textbook of Rapid Response Systems

Abstract

This review reports recent research into the four classic vital signs and how their normal ranges should be defined. It also considers other parameters that might be used as additional vital signs such as pain, breathlessness, mental and functional capacity, and biomarkers. The importance of changes, fluctuations, and trends in vital signs as well as how they are influenced by age is also discussed.

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Acknowledgment

The author would like to acknowledge the assistance and cooperation of Kristi Taylor and Dawn Bubar of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Center information technology department. He would also like to thank Dr Martin Opio, Kitovu Hospital, Masaka, Uganda, and Dr Mikkel Brabrand, Department of Medicine, Sydvestjysk Sygehus, Esbjerg, Denmark, for their help and advice.

Conflict of interest Dr John Kellett is a director and chief medical officer of Tapa Healthcare DAC, Dundalk, Ireland.

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  1. Adjunct Associate Professor in Acute and Emergency Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Hospital of South West Jutland, Esbjerg, Denmark

    John Kellett MD

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  1. Department of Surgery, Critical Care, Harlem Hospital Center, New York, New York, USA

    Michael A. DeVita

  2. The Simpson Centre for Health Services Research, South Western Sydney Clinical School, UNSW Sydney, the Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research and Intensive Care, Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool BC, New South Wales, Australia

    Ken Hillman

  3. Department of Intensive Care, Austin Hospital, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia

    Rinaldo Bellomo

  4. Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom

    Mandy Odell

  5. Intensive Care Unit, Austin Hospital, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia

    Daryl A. Jones

  6. Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Bradford D. Winters

  7. Department of Anesthesia, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, USA

    Geoffrey K. Lighthall

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Kellett, J. (2017). The Assessment and Interpretation of Vital Signs. In: DeVita, M., et al. Textbook of Rapid Response Systems. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39391-9_8

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