Weight Matters
What unit should pediatric patients weight be documented in?
Kilograms
What is the formula converting pounds to kg?
True or False: Pediatric assessments are just the same expectations as adult patients.
False
Who should be included in pediatric care when appropriate?
Parents and the child
A child weighs 22lbs, how many kilograms is this?
22 / 2.2 = 10 kg
18lbs in kg is...
8.2kg
Name one reason age matters when caring for pediatric patients.
Developmental appropriate communication, assessment findings, behavior, pain expression and care needs vary according to developmental stage.
Important to document when a patient is dehydrated d/t Gastroenteritis
Strict I&O, infant s/s of dehydration, Isolation precautions
Why is obtaining a current AND accurate weight important when administering medications to pediatric patients?
Many medications are dosed based off weight, inaccurate weight can result in ineffective or inaccurate medication doses.
Provider orders Tylenol 15mg/kg for a child weighing 20kg. What is the dose?
300mg
A toddler is crying during your assessment. What intervention is developmentally appropriate approach?
Age appropriate communication, involve parents, use calm voice, use toys or cartoons for distraction.
What do seizure precautions consist of
Padded rails, 02 and suction set up, cont pulse ox.
A child weighs 44lbs, whats the weight in kilograms?
20kg
Motrin 10mg/kg/dose for a child weighing 12kg. What is the dose?
120mg
Why is knowing a child's baseline behavior important?
Nurses can recognize subtle changes that could indicate a change in condition.
What are some of the risk factors associated with non-accidental trauma (NAT) to a child?
Single parent, young parent, substance abuse by guardian, financial or social pressures on parent, premature or sick infant (esp. colic), inappropriate developmental expectations-potty training, unexplained bruises & spiral fractures.
You received a new medication order for a pediatric patient but the last weight recorded was a few months ago. What should you do?
The medication order states 20mg/kg/dose and the concentration is 100mg/5ml. The child weighs 15kg. How many ml should be administered?
300kg = 15ml
Two things you should assess when a pediatric patient may be deteriorating.
appearance/behavior, breathing, circulation, vitals, pain, baseline shift.
A child with appendicitis suddenly has no pain and "feels better", what should the nurse be concerned for?
Perforated appy, look for rigid abdomen.