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Frequency of vital sign assessment and clinical deterioration in an Australian emergency department
journal contribution
posted on 2016-11-01, 00:00 authored by Katherine Lambe, Judy CurreyJudy Currey, Julie ConsidineJulie ConsidineBACKGROUND: Understanding of clinical deterioration of emergency department patients is rapidly evolving. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency and nature of vital sign collection and clinical deterioration in emergency care. METHODS: A descriptive exploratory approach was used. Data were collected from the records of 200 randomly selected adults with presenting complaints of abdominal pain, shortness of breath, chest pain and febrile illness from 1 January to 31 December 2014 at a 22 bed emergency department in Melbourne, Australia. RESULTS: When controlled for length of stay, heart rate was the most frequently assessed vital sign per hour (median=0.9) whilst Glasgow Coma Score was the least frequently assessed vital sign per hour (median=0.5). Clinical deterioration (one or more vital signs fulfilling hospital medical emergency team activation criteria during emergency department care) occurred in 14.5% of patients. Of the 5466 vital sign measures, 19.6% were abnormal, 1.9% indicated clinical deterioration. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical deterioration occurred in one in seven patients, and one in five vital signs documented were outside of accepted normal ranges. Thus, emergency department physiological status has implications for patient safety and nursing practice, in particular clinical handover for patients requiring hospital admission.
History
Journal
Australasian emergency nursing journalVolume
19Issue
4Pagination
217 - 222Publisher
ElsevierLocation
Amsterdam, The NetherlandsPublisher DOI
ISSN
1574-6267Language
engPublication classification
C Journal article; C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2016, College of Emergency Nursing AustralasiaUsage metrics
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