This article provides a brief overview of vital signs and is to be used in conjunction with your organisation's policies and procedures.
Note: This article does not encompass reasons why or when to conduct a vital sign assessment - rather, it serves as a summary of each vital sign. All ranges listed are for adults, and this overview does not discuss paediatrics.
The first vital sign that a healthcare worker may note is a patient’s level of consciousness.
An AVPU scale is a rapid assessment tool used in healthcare to measure a patient’s consciousness state.
The patient is aware of the environment and is opening their eyes spontaneously.
The patient’s eyes do not open spontaneously; rather, they open in response to a verbal stimulus directed towards them.
The patient’s eyes do not open spontaneously or to verbal stimuli; they will only respond to painful stimuli directed towards them. A pain stimulus includes touch, and if there is still no response, the health professional can attempt other painful stimuli, such as the trapezius squeeze.
The patient is not responding spontaneously or to verbal or painful stimuli.
(Romanelli & Farrell 2023)
Read: Neurological Assessment and GCS
The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) can be used for a more in-depth approach to further assess a patient’s level of consciousness.
Keep in mind that factors such as sleep, alcohol and medications can influence a person’s level of consciousness.
Respiratory rate is the number of breaths a person takes per minute.
Respiratory rate changes are one of the first signs of medical deterioration, but are frequently missed or poorly measured (Kayser et al. 2023).
Respiratory rate can be measured accurately by watching the rise and fall of the chest, placing hands on the person’s chest or back, and counting breaths for a full minute (Open RN 2021).
The normal resting adult respiratory rate is between 12 and 20 breaths per minute (Queensland Government 2024).
Note that children have different normal ranges than adults, and these vary depending on the child’s age (RCHM 2023).
Read: Paediatric Respiratory Assessment
As well as assessing respiratory rate, it is also crucial to note other aspects of a respiratory assessment, such as work of breathing, adventitious sounds or lack of sounds (Open RN 2021).
A patient’s respiratory rate can be affected by whether they are resting or have been moving.
This vital sign ensures that hypoxia is noticed in a patient and is used to evaluate the effectiveness of oxygen therapy.
Oxygen saturation is generally measured through pulse oximetry.
Normal oxygen saturation is considered to be a peripheral capillary oxygen saturation (SpO2) of 95 to 100% (Torp et al. 2023).
However, for patients who retain carbon dioxide, such as those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the target SpO2 is between 88 and 92% (Barnett et al. 2022).
Pulse oximetry results can be influenced by factors such as blue or black nail polish on the fingernail used for the reading, cold extremities with poor blood flow, or excessive movement (Torp et al. 2023).
Blood pressure is the force of blood as it flows through the artery walls during the contraction and relaxation of the heart. It is measured in millimetres of mercury (mmHg).
This vital sign takes into account systolic and diastolic measurements.
A high blood pressure (hypertension) or low blood pressure (hypotension) are signs of clinical deterioration and must be appropriately managed by healthcare staff. Manual blood pressures should be taken to ensure the accuracy of the results.
Blood pressure can also be measured from lying to standing to determine if there is a postural drop (orthostatic hypotension). A postural drop increases a patient’s risk of dizziness and falls (Ringer et al. 2025).
For most adults, a normal resting BP should be less than 130/85 mmHg (Queensland Government 2024).
Healthcare professionals should note that drastic changes in blood pressure - even if they are in within the normal range - can be a sign of clinical deterioration. Therefore, it’s vital to understand what is normal for each patient, as this is highly individualised (Queensland Health 2023).
Note that children have different normal ranges than adults, and these vary depending on the child’s age (RCHM 2023).
Activities that may influence BP measurements include exercise and pain.
The heart rate is how many times the heart beats per minute.
The normal resting heart rate for adults is 60 to 100 beats per minute (bpm) (Queensland Government 2024).
This result may be influenced by fitness level, age, illness and emotions (Healthdirect 2024). When measuring heart rate, one can also note heart rhythm and strength of the pulse.
Note that children have different normal ranges than adults, and these vary depending on the child’s age (RCHM 2023).
Read: Vital Signs: Temperature Checking
Temperature measures the body’s ability to create and expel heat.
Body temperature can be measured in a variety of ways, including:
A normal temperature is considered to be between 36.5°C and 37.5°C (Osilla et al. 2023).
A dipstick - a thin, plastic stick with strips of chemicals on it - is placed in the urine to detect abnormalities. The chemical strips change colour if certain substances are present or if their levels are above normal.
A dipstick test can check for:
(RCPA 2024)
The dipstick test is a helpful diagnostic tool in identifying conditions such as urinary tract infections (RCPA 2024).
Weight is generally measured upon admission and weekly thereafter, unless there are specific circumstances (e.g. fluid overload risk, eating disorder risk) where it may be measured more frequently.
A person’s weight is vital for calculating medication dosages and assessing nutritional status. It’s imperative that the weighing is completed on the same scale for consistency and to reduce the inaccuracy of results. Further, in measuring fluid status, it’s important that a person is weighed at the same time of day and in roughly the same amount of clothing to appropriately assess fluid balance (Marshall & Roe 2024).
Blood glucose level (BGL) is measured in millimoles per litre (mmol/L) and a normal range is considered to be 4.0 to 7.8 mmol/L, although people living with diabetes may have discussed individual target ranges with their doctor (Diabetes Australia 2024.
BGL can be measured using a blood glucose meter. For people living with diabetes, BGL should be monitored at certain times of the day as advised by their treating practitioner (Diabetes Australia 2025).
Question 1 of 3
Which one of the following is considered a normal adult respiratory rate at rest?
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