{"id":2999,"date":"2025-09-17T09:56:50","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T17:56:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nicolekupchikconsulting.com\/news\/?p=2999"},"modified":"2025-09-17T09:56:51","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T17:56:51","slug":"will-counting-your-patients-respiratory-rate-save-their-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nicolekupchikconsulting.com\/news\/will-counting-your-patients-respiratory-rate-save-their-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Counting Your Patient’s Respiratory Rate Save Their Life?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

September is Sepsis Awareness month, so there is no better time to bring up this controversial, yet old habit, common to the nursing profession.\u00a0 Did you know that many nurses do not count their patient\u2019s respirations?\u00a0\u00a0 You are probably not surprised.\u00a0 Are you 16 RR per minute or an 18 RR\/min kind of nurse when assessing your patient?\u00a0\u00a0Guilty as charged?\u00a0 All jokes aside, I\u2019m hoping to persuade you to count your patient\u2019s RR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reason you should <\/strong>care about getting an accurate respiration rate per minute is because an increased RR is an early warning sign of sepsis.\u00a0 According to the SIRS criteria, a RR of\u00a0 > 20 is an early warning sign. The respiratory rate is the most sensitive and specific to patient deterioration.\u00a0 It\u2019s not that high, you might think to yourself, however it is sepsis physiology that is causing an increased RR.\u00a0 The normal RR of a patient is 12-18 RR per minute.\u00a0 When a patient is experiencing sepsis physiology, they start to increase their respirations.\u00a0 The lungs are trying to breathe off CO2, compensating for a metabolic acidosis or a decrease in HCO3+.\u00a0\u00a0 They are training to balance their pH!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, an increased RR is something to pay attention to!\u00a0 Does it mean your patient has sepsis? No, but look at the other SIRS criteria found in the Critical Care Survival Guide<\/a> to help inform what is happening. You may need to pay attention to the other signs and symptoms of sepsis.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Want to learn more about the sepsis, septic shock, and the sepsis bundle?\u00a0 Check out Nicole\u2019s Surviving Sepsis: Every Second Counts!<\/a> – On sale now!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be empowered to help save your patient\u2019s life by doing a more accurate respiratory assessment!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, go count that respiratory rate!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/emedicine.medscape.com\/article\/168943-overview<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/emedicine.medscape.com\/article\/2172054-overview<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/onlinelibrary-wiley-com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu\/doi\/epdf\/10.5694\/j.1326-5377.2008.tb01825.x<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/reference.medscape.com\/calculator\/522\/sirs-criteria-systemic-inflammatory-response-syndrome<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

September is Sepsis Awareness month, so there is no better time to bring up this controversial, yet old habit, common to the nursing profession.\u00a0 Did you know that many nurses do not count their patient\u2019s respirations?\u00a0\u00a0 You are probably not surprised.\u00a0 Are you 16 RR per minute or an 18 RR\/min kind of nurse when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":3001,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[62],"class_list":["post-2999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nurse-education"],"yoast_head":"\r\nDoes Counting Respiratory Rates Save Lives?-Nicole Kupchik Blog<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Does counting respiratory rates prevent sepsis\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nicolekupchikconsulting.com\/news\/will-counting-your-patients-respiratory-rate-save-their-life\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Does Counting Respiratory Rates Save Lives?-Nicole Kupchik Blog\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Does counting respiratory rates prevent sepsis\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nicolekupchikconsulting.com\/news\/will-counting-your-patients-respiratory-rate-save-their-life\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Blog - 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