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Scenario:
You are one of the LPNs on duty at the clinic today. It has been very busy; it is cold and flu season. There have been so many kids in with respiratory illnesses that there is a designated LPN in charge of getting them all checked in. That is your role today: you will be taking vital signs, obtaining weights, and alerting the RN to any child with abnormal vital signs.
Your call the next child back to the treatment room for vital signs and a weight. This little one is three years old. He was brought in by his mom who says he has had a cough and sniffles for two days. Mom is also carrying a baby who she says is four-months-old. Mom says the baby has sniffles too, but she does not think the doctor needs to see the baby. The baby is sleeping when you call back the other child.
This is the data you collected from the three-year-old child:
Temperature- 102.2 F orally (above normal range)
Heart rate- 110 (above normal range)
Blood pressure- 100/60 (within normal range)
Respiratory rate- 28 (above normal range)
Oxygen saturation- 90% (below normal range)
Weight- 28 pounds (within normal range)
Instructions:
Using the above scenario, answer the following questions:
There are four measurements above that are abnormal and will be reported to the RN. Which measurement has the highest priority and should be reported immediately? Explain your response.
What additional information will be helpful to report to the RN regarding this priority concern? Explain your response and include what your findings might be.
There are four vital sign readings that are abnormal. What is the normal range for each finding? What treatments would be anticipated for the oxygen saturation and the temperature? Which treatment will be given first? Explain your response.
Additionally, since Mom reported that the four-month-old baby has sniffles. Should we be more or less concerned about this based on the child’s age? Explain your response. +1200 words
The measurement with the highest priority and should be reported immediately is the oxygen saturation of 90%. Oxygen saturation is a measure of how much oxygen is being delivered to the body. A normal range for oxygen saturation would be between 95% – 100%. Because this child’s reading was below 95%, it suggests that he may not be receiving enough oxygen to his tissues and organs, which could lead to serious complications if left untreated
In order to properly assess this concern, additional information from mom, such as any recent cold-like symptoms reported in the past few days or weeks, will help further determine what kind of treatment plan needs to be implemented. Other helpful information includes any allergies, current medications being taken (if any), recent history of health issues or infections, and other medical conditions that could have an effect on the patient’s overall condition. Furthermore, if possible it would also help obtain baseline vitals prior to today’s visit so we can compare them against each other and determine if they are improving or worsening overtime.
The normal range for temperature is 98°F – 99°F orally; heart rate is 80-100 bpm; respiration rate is 12-20 breaths per minute; and blood pressure should read 120/80 mmHg systolic/diastolic respectively. For a child with an abnormal temperature reading above 102°F orally, treatments would include medication such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen (which depends on whether the child has no known allergies) along with fluids in order to reduce fever levels. As for the low oxygen saturation level (below 95%), supplemental oxygen therapy via nasal cannula can be administered when there isn’t sufficient airflow reaching their lungs due to respiratory distress caused by infection or asthma attack under close monitoring by staff members until readings return back within normal limits or when there’s symptomatic improvement observed with patient condition overall. In this case since there’s already respiratory distress present we’d need prioritize administering supplemental oxygen first then work towards treating fever afterwards depending on how severe it currently spiked at then moment especially if infant below 6 months old otherwise both treatments can happen simultaneously unless other contraindications exist preventing certain medications from being used safely which must always taken account into consideration before going forth with either prescribing medications or performing certain procedures).
Lastly in regards concerning Mom reporting four-month-old baby having sniffles too: We should still remain concerned about this because even though infants are generally able cope better than adults when having sniffles due age related factors including immaturity organs functioning amongst many others yet risk factors remains still quite high given their young age thus more important take necessary preventative measures avoid potential diseases from spreading around household like making sure everyone surrounding infant getting checked out properly along washing hands regularly while keeping environment clean free germs through use disinfectants wipes etc.