title: Ineffectiveness of measuring routine vital signs in adult inpatients with deep venous thrombosis.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the benefit, if any, of routine monitoring of vital signs on clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients with deep venous thrombosis (DVT). One hundred forty-nine patients with DVT included in this study were categorized into two groups: those that underwent measurement of vital signs every 6 hours or those that had vital signs measured every 8 hours. Vital signs included pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and temperature. Frequency of measurement of vital signs did not alter average length of star, for patients with every-4-hours measurement, this was 5.16 days and was not statistically significant from patients with every-8-hours measurement, who stayed an average of 4.85 days (p = 0.507). Similarly, more frequent vital sign evaluation did not result in a statistically significant difference in survival, progression of disease, nor did it predict the disposition of the patient. These results suggest that present frequency of measurement of vital signs is not cost or time effective because they do not result in a favorable outcome, length of stay, or disposition. The study further serves to highlight the need for an individualized assessment of vital sign measurement, because this will also lead to a more efficient allocation of hospital resources.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of North Dakota School of Medicine, Fargo, North Dakota 58102, USA. apotti@medicine.nodak.edu
authors.forename: Anil
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Potti
authors.forename: Amit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Panwalkar
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hebert
authors.forename: Kaley
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sholes
authors.forename: Mary Jo
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hanley
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001831:Body Temperature; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003955:Diagnostic Tests, Routine / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006439:Hemodynamics; D017721:Hospital Costs; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010351:Patient Discharge / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011674:Pulse; D012119:Respiration; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D020246:Venous Thrombosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants