Importance of specific vital signs in nurses' recognition and response to deteriorating patients: A scoping review
Julie Considine1,2, Penelope Casey1,2, Olumuyiwa Omonaiye1,2
1School of Nursing and Midwifery and Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research in the Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia.
Aim(S):
To explore the published research related to nurses' documentation and use of vital signs in recognising and responding to deteriorating patients.
Design:
Scoping review of international, peer-reviewed research studies.
Data Sources:
Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature Complete, Medline Complete, American Psychological Association PsycInfo and Excerpta Medica were searched on 25 July 2023.
Reporting Method:
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews.
Results:
Of 3880 potentially eligible publications, 32 were included. There were 26 studies of nurses' vital sign documentation: 21 adults and five paediatric. The most and least frequently documented vital signs were blood pressure and respiratory rate respectively. Seven studies focused on vital signs and rapid response activation or afferent limb failure. Five studies of vital signs used to trigger the rapid response system showed heart rate was the most frequent and respiratory rate and conscious state were the least frequent. Heart rate was least likely and oxygen saturation was most likely to be associated with afferent limb failure (n = 4 studies).
Conclusion:
Despite high reliance on using vital signs to recognise clinical deterioration and activate a response to deteriorating patients in hospital settings, nurses' documentation of vital signs and use of vital signs to activate rapid response systems is poorly understood. There were 21studies of nurses' vital sign documentation in adult patients and five studies related to children.
Implications For The Profession And/Or Patient Care:
A deeper understanding of nurses' decisions to assess (or not assess) specific vital signs, analysis of the value or importance nurses place (or not) on specific vital sign parameters is warranted. The influence of patient characteristics (such as age) or the clinical practice setting, and the impact of nurses' workflows of vital sign assessment warrants further investigation.
Patient Or Public Contribution:
No Patient or Public Contribution.
More Related Videos
10:38Observational Study Protocol for Repeated Clinical Examination and Critical Care Ultrasonography Within the Simple Intensive Care Studies
Published on: January 16, 2019
05:01A Detailed Protocol for Physiological Parameters Acquisition and Analysis in Neurosurgical Critical Patients
Published on: October 17, 2017
Related Concept Videos
01:19Guidelines For Measuring Vital Signs
Before taking a patient's vital signs, a nurse would consider and assess the patient's comfort level and ensure appropriate equipment is available.
01:19Respiratory Assessment: Purpose and Indications
Objectives and Importance:
The primary goal of respiratory assessment is to evaluate patients at early risk of clinical deterioration. Since respiratory distress often precedes other signs of declining health, breathing patterns and sounds become a...
01:25Introduction to Vital Signs
Vital signs help healthcare professionals assess an individual's well-being and detect any functional changes...
01:29Nursing Assessment
The nurse collects all aspects of the patient's health in the initial assessment, establishing priorities for ongoing focused assessments...
01:20Assessment of Ventilation I: Respiratory Rate
A Ventilation assessment is critical for monitoring a patient's health status. Respiration, one of the most accessible vital signs, provides insights into the function of numerous body systems and can indicate serious health issues, such as brainstem injuries from head trauma.
Critical Guidelines for Assessing Ventilation:
01:30Assessment of Airway, Skin Color, and Use of Accessory Muscles
Introduction
The initial evaluation of a patient's respiratory system...