Vital Signs

Generalities

Measuring vital signs is the initial but still essential part of bedside examination. Unfortunately, this task is often relegated to nonphysicians, sometimes even technicians. Yet, as the word implies, vital signs can provide a wealth of crucial information, some requiring special skills and knowledge.

A

Vital Statistics

• 1.

  What are the vital statistics?

  They are weight and height , both important measurements (see Chapter 1 , General Appearance, Questions 30–49). In contrast to vital signs , vital statistics are usually stable and thus less clinically helpful.

B

Vital Signs

• 2.

  What are the vital signs?

  They are crucial (and thus vital ) measurements that should be obtained in every meaningful patient interaction. They include heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature , and blood pressure . To these, hemoglobin oxygen saturation (O ₂ sats) has been recently added.