ASSESSMENT

This requires assessment of

• the presence of respiratory effort
• the pattern of respiration (e.g. paradoxical movement, flail chest)
• the adequacy of the respiratory effort :

               respiratory rate

               signs of asphyxia e.g hypnosis, mental clouding

               signs of hypercritical e.g warm dilated peripheries, sweating, mental clouding

• auscultate findings of the chest
• the pulse optometry reading

These clinical signs must be taken in the context of the clinical picture. The signs can be non-specific and must be interpreted as a package, rather than individually.