vital signs

[nursekara513]

I feel so stupid for even asking but what happens with vital signs during infection? I am doing a case study for class and the patient has a small bowel perforation. The teacher wants some notes on her vitals which are BP 100/62 HR 110 resp 30/min and temp of 101.4F. These are all indicative of an infection, correct?

What would be the reason for a low blood pressure and increased heart rate and respirations.

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

What does your textbook say about systemic infection?

Vital signs

[lilykiss6]

Low blood pressure could mean " not enough blood is getting to the tissues"

increased heart rate could mean " less blood flow to the body because the heart is working so hard"

[wallflower4180]

I agree to lilykiss. Low blood pressure can also be due to septicemia.

[AprilRNurse]

Go and study. We could go on and on about the systemic response to infection- but really you need to study it and understand it. It's not a basic thing- and pertinent to nursing. It's a basic that you need to thoroughly understand.

Your vitals are an important part of the picture of what is going on with your patient. You need to understand them and what they tell you.

[AprilRNurse]

I agree to lilykiss. Low blood pressure can also be due to septicemia.

So can a low temp, or a widening gap between SBP and DBP, even if the systolic looks ok, or an elevated RR. If you wait for the BP to tank you might be in trouble.

[lizspears]

the fever can cause elev resp and hr, the bp would need more info, could be septic could be their baseline?

[nursekara513]

It was indicative of infection, and the patient did have sepsis. Ive been getting so many easy things mixed up with all this stuff. so must harder now. thanks tho!