Defining normal ranges and centiles for heart and respiratory rates in infants and children: a cross-sectional study of patients attending an Australian tertiary hospital paediatric emergency department

摘要

ObjectiveKey components in the assessment of a child in the emergency department (ED) are their heart and respiratory rates. In order to interpret these signs, practitioners must know what is normal for a particular age. The aim of this paper is to develop age-specific centiles for these parameters and to compare centiles with the previously published work of Fleming and Bonafide, and the Advanced Paediatric Life Support (APLS) reference ranges.