The vexatious vital: neither clinical measurements by nurses nor an electronic monitor provides accurate measurements of respiratory rate in triage.

Study Objective: Of all the vital signs, only respiratory rate is still measured clinically in most US triage systems. Previous studies have demonstrated the inaccuracy, poor interobserver agreement, and low variability of routine measurements of respiratory rate. We assess the variability and accuracy of triage nurses' measurements of respiratory rate against a criterion standard.