Chapter 14: Observations
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Definition
The term ‘observation’ refers to the physical assessment of a patient, which in addition to vital signs and specialized assessments (such as neurological observations) includes a review of wounds, intravenous therapy, wound drains and pain (Adam et al. [2], Sprigings and Chambers [189]) (note that the latter topics are discussed elsewhere in this manual). The term ‘vital signs’ is traditionally used in the context of the collection of a cluster of physical measurements, such as pulse, respiration rate, temperature, blood pressure, pulse oximetry and more recently level of consciousness (Jarvis et al. [87]).
