Detecting blood transfusion reactions: What are vital signs anyway?

There is a lack of consistency in the scientific literature regarding what is included in vital signs and considered derangement in findings. We used vital signs during blood product administration as an exemplar to explore this controversy. Vital sign components varied across all studies when reviewed by a cohort of frontline nurses attempting to align institutional policy with current evidence. Only low-level data linking conventional approaches to vital sign monitoring for transfusion reaction detection were found.