title: Age related reference ranges for respiration rate and heart rate from 4 to 16 years.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Clinical vital signs in children (temperature, heart rate, respiration rate, and blood pressure) are an integral part of clinical assessment of degree of illness or normality. Despite this, only blood pressure and temperature have a reliable evidence base. The accepted ranges of heart and respiration rate vary widely.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study examined 1109 children aged 4-16 years in their own schools. Age, sex, height, weight, and resting respiration rate and heart rate were recorded. The data were used to produce age related reference ranges for everyday clinical use.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Reference intervals are presented for the range of heart rate and respiration rate of healthy resting children aged 4-16 years. The recorded values are at variance with standard quoted ranges in currently available texts.
authors.affiliation: Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa. leewallis@bvr.co.za
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Wallis
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Healy
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Undy
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Maconochie
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001827:Body Height / Q000502:physiology; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D012143:Respiratory Physiological Phenomena