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MONITORING RESPIRATORY RATE IS IMPORTANT

Despite being the least frequently monitored vital sign, respiratory rate has been demonstrated to be one of the most sensitive predictors of poor patient outcome. Recorded respiratory rates are often incorrect and higher than directly observed rates, possibly because care providers estimate the rate or count over a fraction of a minute and multiply to obtain the recorded rate.1

Furthermore, subtle changes in respiratory rate over time may be indicative of evolving patient deterioration.2

Relationship between respiratory rate and respiratory compromise
42% Proportion of missing respiratory rate recordings in the 24 hours before an emergency team call 3
70.5% Percentage of occupied ward beds where no respiratory rate recording had been made in a single 24-hour period4
14.4 Odds ratio of a respiratory rate<6 for mortality in general care floor patients5
43.1 Odds ratio of a respiratory rate>25 for unexpected cardiac arespiratory rateest, unplanned ICU admission or unexpected deaths in general care floor patients6

Relationship between respiratory rate and respiratory compromise

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Nellcor™ Respiration Rate Software

Spot-checking patients on the general care floor can lead to missed signs of respiratory compromise. Nellcor™ respiration rate software provides affordable noninvasive, continuous monitoring of respiratory status and may provide an early warning of impending respiratory distress.

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Capnostream™ 35 Portable Respiratory Monitor

The Capnostream™ 35 portable respiratory monitor delivers real-time, continuous monitoring of your patient’s respiratory status by measuring etCO2, SpO2, respiration rate, and pulse rate.

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Increase Vigilance and Safety

Monitor patient respiratory status remotely with Vital Sync™ monitoring and clinical decision support solution. It allows clinicians to take action with immediate access to smart, actionable data, implement clinical protocols through the use of CDS apps and receive updates and alerts on any web-enabled device.

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Acute Care & Monitoring

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  • *Vital Sync™ physiological patch is an alternate name for the Zephyr™ BioModule. The function and form of the Vital Sync™ physiological patch are identical to that of the Zephyr™ BioModule.
  • 1. Semler, M. W., Stover, D. G., Copland, A. P., et al. Flash mob research: a single-day, multicenter, resident-directed study of respiratory rate. Chest. 2013;143(6):1740-1744.
  • 2. Lynn, L. A., & Curry, J. P. Patterns of unexpected in-hospital deaths: a root cause analysis. Patient Saf Surg. 2011;5(1):3.
  • 3. Chen, J., Hillman, K., Bellomo, R., Flabouris, A., Finfer, S., & Cretikos, M. The impact of introducing medical emergency team system on the documentations of vital signs. Resuscitation. 2009;80(1):35-43.
  • 4. McBride, J., Knight, D., Piper, J., & Smith, G. B. Long-term effect of introducing an early warning score on respiratory rate charting on general wards. Resuscitation. 2005;65(1):41-44.
  • 5. Buist, M., Bernard, S., Nguyen, T. V., Moore, G., & Anderson, J. Association between clinically abnormal observations and subsequent in-hospital mortality: a prospective study. Resuscitation. 2004;62(2):137-141.
  • 6. Cretikos, M., Chen, J., Hillman, K., Bellomo, R., Finfer, S., & Flabouris, A. The objective medical emergency team activation criteria: a case-control study. Resuscitation. 2007;73(1):62-72
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