Heart rate: is it truly a vital sign?

Heart rate: is it truly a vital sign? Research Abstract Details 

Research Abstract Table of Contents

Jump to the:

Heart rate: is it truly a vital sign? Abstract Text:

Karen J Brasel,Clare Guse,Larry M Gentilello,Ram Nirula,

BACKGROUND: Tachycardia, often defined as heart rate >100 bpm, has been utilized as a physical sign of hypovolemic shock among the injured for decades without evidence to support its use as a predictor of injury or significant hypovolemia. We sought to determine whether admission heart rate is a valid predictor of hemodynamically significant injuries. METHODS: Trauma registry data from 1998 to 2004 were analyzed with logistic regression to determine whether heart rate was associated with need for emergent intervention for bleeding (laparotomy, thoracotomy, or angiography), need for packed red blood cell (pRBC) transfusion in the first 24 hours, or severe injury (ISS >25) after blunt or penetrating trauma. RESULTS: Records of 10,825 patients were analyzed. Overall, heart rate was neither sensitive nor specific in determining the need for emergent intervention, pRBCs in the first 24 hours or severe injury. This was not altered by the presence of hypotension (systolic blood pressure <90 mm Hg) or age in the blunt cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Heart rate alone is not sufficient to determine the need for emergent interventions for hemorrhage. Although tachycardia may still indicate need for emergent intervention in the trauma patient, its absence should not allay such concern.

Heart rate: is it truly a vital sign? Publishing Authors By Initials

KJ Brasel,C Guse,LM Gentilello,R Nirula,

For similar disorders of environmental origin: wounds and injuries research abstracts see: disorders of environmental origin: wounds and injuries research

PUBMED ID PMID:

MEDLINE DATE:

Heart rate: is it truly a vital sign? Journal Published:

PUBLICATION TYPE: Validation Studies

Journal: The Journal of trauma

VOLUME: 62

Page Numbers: 812-7

Journal Abbreviation:

ISSN: 0022-5282

DAY: 3

MONTH: Apr

YEAR: 2007

Heart rate: is it truly a vital sign? Information

Number of References:

LANGUAGE: eng

NlmUniqueID: 376373

Heart rate: is it truly a vital sign? Keywords Mesh Terms:

KEYWORDS: Wounds and Injuries

MESH TERMS: therapy

Chemical & Substance for Abstract: Heart rate: is it truly a vital sign? Information

Substance Name:

Registry Number:

Grant and Affiliation Information for Heart rate: is it truly a vital sign?

AFFILIATION: Department of Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Wisconsin 53226, USA. kbrasel@mcw.edu

Country: United States

AGENCY: United States PHS

GRANT: R49/CCR519614

ACRONYM:

MEDLINETA: J Trauma

REFSOURCE:

DATABASENAME:

ACCESSION NUMBER:

Number Hits: 0

Heart rate: is it truly a vital sign? Related Publications

• Comparison of mid-block and intersection-related left turn collisions.
• Early use of vasopressors after injury: caution before constriction.
• Heart rate: is it truly a vital sign?
• Survival of an elderly patient with blunt traumatic cardiac rupture.