Distribution of Pediatric Vital Signs in the Emergency Department: A Nationwide Study

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Woori Bae1, Kyunghoon Kim1, Bongjin Lee2,3

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Korea.

Children (Basel, Switzerland)
|August 9, 2020
PubMed

Insights

This study created age-specific centile charts for children's heart rate and respiratory rate in emergency departments. These charts provide crucial data for assessing pediatric vital signs and improving clinical care.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Emergency Medicine
  • Clinical Pediatrics
  • Biostatistics

Background:

  • Accurate vital sign assessment is crucial for pediatric care.
  • Existing reference ranges may have discrepancies, necessitating updated data.
  • Establishing normal vital sign distributions in children is essential for effective clinical use.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To derive age-specific centile charts for heart rate and respiratory rate in children.
  • To provide a reliable reference for vital signs in pediatric emergency settings.
  • To identify deviations from expected vital sign distributions in children.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized the Korea's National Emergency Department Information System dataset.
  • Included patients under 16 years old visiting the emergency department (Jan 2016-Dec 2017).
  • Derived centile charts from data of children with normal body temperature (36 to <38 °C).

Main Results:

  • Generated age-specific centile charts and curves for heart rate and respiratory rate.
  • Observed a decline in both heart rate and respiratory rate from birth to early adolescence.
  • Highlighted substantial discrepancies with existing Advanced Paediatric Life Support and Pediatric Advanced Life Support guidelines.

Conclusions:

  • Age-based centile charts for pediatric heart rate and respiratory rate offer new evidence-based data.
  • These charts can enhance clinical care by providing accurate reference ranges.
  • The findings support improved follow-up studies and clinical decision-making for children.

Keywords:
childheart raterespiratory ratevital signs

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