Vital Signs Monitoring in Outpatients Physical Therapy in Various Cities of Pakistan

Abstract

Every time a new patient or client visits, their vital signs should be taken, according to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). Taking vital indicators such as blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate, and body temperature is part of a physical therapist's professional decision-making process. Objective: To determine the frequency of vital signs monitoring in outpatients physical therapy practice. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in physical therapy departments of different clinical settings. Data were collected through 12 items survey questionnaire from physical therapist, which was then analyzed by SPSS version 2022.The frequency of monitoring of vital signs by physical therapist was measured by using frequency tables. Association was seen with the help of chi-square test. Results: In this survey study, 12 items and 300 respondents were included to find out the frequency of physical therapist who monitor vital signs in their daily practice. The results suggested that 56.7% respondents monitor vital signs, 27.3% respondents monitor vitals only when there is an indicted or diagnosed cardiovascular condition and 16.0% respondent do not monitor vital signs. There is a significant relation that vital signs are neglected due to time constraints in daily practice with p-value less than 0.05. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that vital signs are being monitored by most of the physical therapist. Further studies need to conducted and better stratify risk factors for different conditions to better determine when exercise and activity may be at risk.