Recording vital signs in the emergency room: Con we improve? Alistair Appleby

Abstract

Audit is the process of measurement of care, intervention designed to improve, and remeasurement. This paper describes the development of an audit in the Emergency department of a large urban hospital in Nepal using blood pressure and pulse recording
rates as measures of care. Two periods, a year apart, were compared. We investigated the impact of several interventions including the institution of a systematic training programme for resident doctors and the appointment of a registrar in Emergency
Medicine. The paper also examines whether more sensitive measures of care can be developed.

The study found an improvement in both parameters over the year studied but this did not reach statistical significance. We describe briefly how our audit could be refined and the potential for, and benefits of, audit in Nepal.