How frequently are physiological variables recorded in the emergency room in patients with obstructive pulmonary diseases and pneumonia?
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.
Haegstad
Lars K
LK
Section of Thoracic Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Bergen, Norway.
Bjotveit
Torbjørn
T
Johannessen
Ane
A
Gulsvik
Amund
A
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*