Word parts
What it means
A slow breathing rate. In adults it is usually defined as fewer than 12 breaths a minute (normal is 12 to 20); children and babies normally breathe faster, so their cutoffs are higher. Common causes include opioid and sedative drugs, a head injury with rising pressure in the skull, very low body temperature and sleep. Slow breathing can let carbon dioxide build up in the blood.
For the nurse
Count respirations for a full minute and check how alert the client is and the oxygen saturation. Before and after giving an opioid, check the respiratory rate and level of sedation; a client who is hard to wake with slow breathing needs help right away, and naloxone may be ordered.
In a chart
"Respirations 8 and shallow, difficult to arouse, 1 hour after IV hydromorphone."
Remember it
Brady is slow, as in bradycardia: a slow heart, a slow breath.
At a glance
| Spanish | bradipnea |
|---|---|
| Also written | bradypnoea, bradypneic |
Easy to confuse with
tachypnea
A breathing rate faster than normal, above 20 breaths per minute in an adult.
Related terms
-pnea
A word ending that means breathing.
opioid analgesic
A strong drug that relieves moderate to severe pain by acting on the brain and spinal cord.
bradycardia
A heart rate slower than normal; in an adult, fewer than 60 beats per minute.
respiratory rate
The number of breaths a person takes in one minute.