Question

A pale and very sleepy but arousable 3-year-old child with a history of diarrhea is brought to the hospital. Primary assessment reveals a respiratory rate of 45/min with good breath sounds bilaterally. Heart rate is 150/min, blood pressure is 90/64 mm Hg, and SpO2 is 92% in room air. Capillary refill is 5 seconds, and peripheral pulses are weak. After placing the child on a nonrebreathing face mask (10-L/min flow) with 100% oxygen and obtaining vascular access, which is the most appropriate immediate treatment for this child

Answer 1

Answer:

The most appropriate immediate treatment for this child is administration of ISOTONIC CRYSTALLOID

Explanation:

Diarrhea in children should be treated properly to avoid dehydration which is the usually the cause of death in most cases. The most common causes of diarrhea are Infections of viral, bacterial or parasitic origin and it is characterized with drastic loss of fluid through watery and loose stools.

The signs and symptoms observed in the 3-year-old child indicates dehydration due to loss of fluid from a history of Diarrhea. Therefore administration of ISOTONIC CRYSTALLOID should be used to rehydrate the child once vascular access is obtained.

The isotonic crystalloids are standard intravenous (IV) fluids used for initial volume resuscitation. They expand the intravascular and interstitial fluid spaces. Examples include:

--> sodium chloride solution (normal saline [NS]) and

--> lactated Ringer (LR) solution.