How assessing the patient’s circulation can help determine the person with asthma?
Assessing the patient’s circulation is crucial as it determines how adequate their cardiac output is as well as their tissue perfusion. It involves looking at the patient’s color of their hands which presented very light pink to pale and felt cool on touch, which may be as a result of vasoconstriction. In vasoconstriction, blood is diverted away from the skin and to more essential organs such as the heart, brain, and lungs.
The cutaneous pressure was applied on Rose’ s fingertips for 5 seconds to measure her capillary refill time. It was higher than the normal range 2 seconds, which implied poor peripheral perfusion. Capillary refill time can also be prolonged by other factors such as a cold environment, dehydration and old age; however, Rose was in a warm room.
Rose’s heart rate was assessed by listening to her chest using a stethoscope. Using this tool is beneficial because it allows the nurses and/doctors to listen to internal sounds a lot more precisely than using their fingers or pulse oximetry.
In an ectopic pregnancy, there is tubal dilation due to the abnormal attachment and growth of the trophoblast causing secondary hemorrhage evident in vaginal bleeding. Excessive blood loss causes reduced circulation that is usually marked by increased time for capillary refill and pallor indicative of anemia. Rose’s blood pressure was measured in millimeters of mercury giving a systolic pressure reading of 89 and a diastolic pressure of 56. Systolic pressure is defined as the pressure which is achieved when blood is pumped out from the heart, whereas diastolic pressure is that when the heart is at rest between beats. Smith and Bowden mention that acute deterioration is strongly indicated by a fall in systolic pressure and that the patient’s News score is only influenced the systolic pressure even though both pressures are essential.
Rose was hypotensive when assessed on both arms with her blood pressure falling below the normal range 90/6-mmHg – 140/90mmHg scoring three on the News score chart.