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Orthostatic Vital Signs in Healthy, Young Male Marines.

PB2007107639

Publication Date	1997
Personal Author	Greenwood, M. I.
Page Count	23
Abstract	Orthostatic vital signs (commonly called tilts or postural vital signs) are routinely performed in emergency and ambulatory care settings. Emergency nursing and medicine texts advocate using this simple, non-invasive test to identify dehydration or other fluid volume deficit states. Despite widespread use, minimal research exists on the best methods for obtaining orthostatic vital signs, specifically regarding optimal timing sequences of position changes during the procedure. Additionally, methods used to interpret test results vary greatly in both nursing and medical literature. Critical rehydration decisions are based on orthostatic test valuesvalues that may have been obtained incorrectly or interpreted erroneously. Previous research on orthostatic vital signs often employ participants who are elderly or healthy young men and women with resting heart rates of 60100 beats per minute (bpm). Physically conditioned young males have slower resting heart rates than the general population. Few orthostatic vital sign studies exist in which participants are well-conditioned young men with resting heart rates of 4060 bpm. Despite variability in the textbook literature, a positive tilt test is usually interpreted as an increase in heart rate of 20 bpm or more, or a decrease in systolic blood pressure (SBP) of 20 mm Hg or more, after assuming increasingly upright postural positions. Use of these criteria to determine fluid deficit in the normally healthy, physically conditioned, young, male Marine may be inaccurate, resulting in expensive over-treatment or dangerous under-treatment of these patients. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was twofold. In the first part of the study, the researcher investigated the sequential steps required to obtain orthostatic vital signs, including patient positioning and timing.
Keywords	Marines Young males Orthostatic vital signs Tilts Postural vital signs Emergency care Ambulatory care Beats per minute (Bpm) Systolic blood pressure (SBP)
Source Agency	TriService Nursing Research Program/Uniform Services Univ. of the Health Sciences
NTIS Subject Category	57E - Clinical Medicine 74 - Military Sciences 44D - Health Care Assessment & Quality Assurance
Corporate Authors	Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital, CA.; TriService Nursing Research Program, Bethesda, MD.
Supplemental Notes	Sponsored by TriService Nursing Research Program, Bethesda, MD.
Document Type	Technical Report
NTIS Issue Number	200713

Orthostatic Vital Signs in Healthy, Young Male Marines.

Orthostatic Vital Signs in Healthy, Young Male Marines.
PB2007107639

Publication Date	1997
Personal Author	Greenwood, M. I.
Page Count	23
Abstract	Orthostatic vital signs (commonly called tilts or postural vital signs) are routinely performed in emergency and ambulatory care settings. Emergency nursing and medicine texts advocate using this simple, non-invasive test to identify dehydration or other fluid volume deficit states. Despite widespread use, minimal research exists on the best methods for obtaining orthostatic vital signs, specifically regarding optimal timing sequences of position changes during the procedure. Additionally, methods used to interpret test results vary greatly in both nursing and medical literature. Critical rehydration decisions are based on orthostatic test valuesvalues that may have been obtained incorrectly or interpreted erroneously. Previous research on orthostatic vital signs often employ participants who are elderly or healthy young men and women with resting heart rates of 60100 beats per minute (bpm). Physically conditioned young males have slower resting heart rates than the general population. Few orthostatic vital sign studies exist in which participants are well-conditioned young men with resting heart rates of 4060 bpm. Despite variability in the textbook literature, a positive tilt test is usually interpreted as an increase in heart rate of 20 bpm or more, or a decrease in systolic blood pressure (SBP) of 20 mm Hg or more, after assuming increasingly upright postural positions. Use of these criteria to determine fluid deficit in the normally healthy, physically conditioned, young, male Marine may be inaccurate, resulting in expensive over-treatment or dangerous under-treatment of these patients. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was twofold. In the first part of the study, the researcher investigated the sequential steps required to obtain orthostatic vital signs, including patient positioning and timing.
Keywords	Marines Young males Orthostatic vital signs Tilts Postural vital signs Emergency care Ambulatory care Beats per minute (Bpm) Systolic blood pressure (SBP)
Source Agency	TriService Nursing Research Program/Uniform Services Univ. of the Health Sciences
NTIS Subject Category	57E - Clinical Medicine 74 - Military Sciences 44D - Health Care Assessment & Quality Assurance
Corporate Authors	Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital, CA.; TriService Nursing Research Program, Bethesda, MD.
Supplemental Notes	Sponsored by TriService Nursing Research Program, Bethesda, MD.
Document Type	Technical Report
NTIS Issue Number	200713