CLINICAL PRESENTATION OF RESPIRATORY FAILURE

Looking at the patient from the end of the bed can usually identify someone who is struggling to breath and is hypoxic but these skills take experience and time to develop.

Clinical signs of respiratory failure

• Apnoea (no breathing) – respiratory arrest
• Dyspnoea (breathlessness)
• Tachypnoea (respiratory rate > 20 breaths/min)
• Bradypnoea (respiratory rate < 8 breaths/min)
• Using accessory muscles of ventilation
• Inability to talk
• Cyanosis (blue discoloration of skin and mucous membranes due to the tissues having a low oxygen concentration)
• Tachycardia (heart rate > 100 beats/min)
• Confusion, agitation, sweating
• Reduced consciousness