title: How frequently are physiological variables recorded in the emergency room in patients with obstructive pulmonary diseases and pneumonia?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess how frequently measurements of relevant physiological variables are made in patients presenting acutely to hospital with obstructive pulmonary diseases (OPD) and pneumonia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients admitted to three hospitals in western Norway with OPD (asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)) and/or pneumonia over a 75-day period were included in the study. The assessing physicians in the emergency room (ER) were asked to measure and record physiological variables according to normal practice.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 338 patients (54% women), with an average age of 64 (SD 19) years. The initial diagnoses were OPD (176), pneumonia (103) and a combination of OPD and pneumonia (59). Heart rate and body temperature were recorded in almost all patients, whereas the recording of all other variables varied from 45% to 91%. Most variables were recorded more frequently in OPD than in pneumonia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The importance of recording respiratory rate, cutaneous oxygen saturation, and peak expiratory flow should be stressed in the training of physicians.
authors.affiliation: Section of Thoracic Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Lars K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Haegstad
authors.forename: Torbjørn
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bjotveit
authors.forename: Ane
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Johannessen
authors.forename: Amund
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gulsvik
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*