The Organization of Vital Signs for Pattern Recognition

Vital signs are simple, inexpensive, and the most frequently documented information gathered on patients in the hospital. However, in today's medical training system, emphasis on the interpretation of vital signs has declined. For new clinicians entering the wards, the physiological basis of vital signs and their clinical utility is of utmost importance to providing thorough care. In this article, we present four clinical scenarios highlighting aberrations in vital signs that are commonly encountered on the wards. We describe the physiological basis and interpretation of these vital signs, which we hope will serve as a clinical framework for medical trainees.

You are the intern working a night shift. As you are catching up on notes, you receive a page from the nurse for one of your patients. The nurse informs you that this previously stable patient has a blood pressure of 180/95 and a heart rate of 55 beats per minute. The nurse is concerned about these vital signs and asks you to evaluate the patient.This clinical scenario raises several important questions including:Are these vital signs concerning?What could cause this change in vital signs?Do these vital signs warrant immediate intervention or is it safe to observe the patient?Is one aberrant vital sign enough to warrant intervention?The goal of this article is to answer these and other questions regarding vital signs and the clinical scenarios that they indicate.