Case Study on a Three Year Old With Bronchiolitis

1885 Words4 Pages

Introduction:
This paper will discuss a case study of Liam, a three-month-old boy who is transferred from the General Practitioner (GP) to paediatric ward with bronchiolitis. Initially, Liam’s chief health issues will be identified, following by nursing assessment and diagnoses of the child’s need. Focus will be made on the management of two major health problems: respiratory distress and dehydration, and summary and evaluation of the interventions with evidence of learning. Lastly, a conclusion of author’s self-evaluation will be present.
Identification of specific key issues:
Liam is a previously healthy boy who has experienced rhinorrhoea, intermittent cough, and poor feeding for the past four days. His positive result of nasopharyngeal aspirate for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) indicates that Liam has acute bronchiolitis which is a viral infection (Glasper & Richardson, 2010). “Bronchiolitis is the commonest reason for admission to hospital in the first 6 months of life. It describes a clinical syndrome of cough tachypnoea, feeding difficulties and inspiratory crackles on chest auscultation” (Fitzgerald, 2011, p.160). Bronchiolitis can cause respiratory distress and desaturation (91% in the room air) to Liam due to airway blockage; therefore the infant appears to have nasal flaring, intercostal and subcostal retractions, and tachypnoea (54 breathes/min) during breathing (Glasper & Richardson, 2010). Tachycardia (152 beats/min) could occur due to hypoxemia and compensatory mechanism for low blood pressure (74/46mmHg) (Fitzgerald, 2011; Glasper & Richardson, 2010). Moreover, Liam has fever and conjunctiva injection which could be a result of infection, as evidenced by high temperature (38.6°C) and bilateral tympanic membra...

... middle of paper ...

....) and dehydration (e.g. sunken fontanel, dry mucous membranes, decreased urine output, and intolerance fluid by mouth), participate in care, and reduce anxiety/stress during Liam’s hospitalisation (Axton & Fugate 2009; Pillitteri, 2010). Additionally, Liam’s older sister may understand the reason of Liam’s hospital admission and the care she could carry out once Liam being discharged (Pillitteri, 2010).
Conclusion:
In summary, the paper focused on caring for an infant with bronchiolitis. The student nurse has realised that it is important to gather information from the parents because they know their baby best. Nursing interventions should encourage family members to participate as well as they are the one who care about their child most. Special attention need to pay for children who attend day-care facility and follow up care is necessary.
Word count: 1674

More about Case Study on a Three Year Old With Bronchiolitis

Open Document