The importance of vital signs in the triage of injured patients.
BACKGROUND
Vital signs are indicators of a patient presenting to an emergency department (ED). Abnormal vital signs have been associated with an increased likelihood of admission to the hospital. Physicians have long recognized the importance of vital sign observations, and vital sign measurement has proven to be useful for detecting serious diseases during triage in EDs.


METHODS
The study included all patients with injuries presented to the ED of a general hospital in Greece. For these patients, sex, age, cause of injury, vital signs at the time of admission to ED (systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen saturation), and the course of the patient (admission to hospital, discharge from ED) were recorded. The statistical analysis of data was done by the statistical package SPSS 15. It was performed using univariate regression and Spearman correlation coefficient.


RESULTS
A total of 2703 patients were registered, of which 71% were men aged 31.9 ± 0.38 years and 29% were women aged 45.7 ± 0.79 years. The main causes of injury were car accident, motor accident, pedestrian accident, fall from a height, and assault. By logistic regression, the correlation was found between mean blood pressure, systolic blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and hospitalization or discharge of the patients.


CONCLUSIONS
The measurement of mean blood pressure, systolic blood pressure, and oxygen saturation of the injured patients during the admission to the ED can predict the disease course of patients.
University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Eleftheria
E
Chalari
George
G
Intas
Pantelis
P
Stergiannis
Paraskevas
P
Vezyridis
Veziridis
V
Paraskevas
George
G
Fildissis
D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology; D011379:Prognosis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014218:Triage; D055986:Vital Signs / Q000502:physiology*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*