Formula sheets, the key method steps for every topic and 6 practice problems, with full solutions at the back.
Why is the Lund and Browder chart preferred over the adult "rule of nines" for estimating burn size in children?
A 7-year-old has had morning headaches and vomiting for several weeks, now with clumsiness. What should the nurse suspect?
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A bag contains 25 000 units of heparin in 500 mL. The order is 15 units/kg/h for a patient who weighs 102 kg. At what rate R do you set the pump, in mL/h? Round to one decimal place.
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A dobutamine infusion of 500 mg in 250 mL runs at 30 mL/h. The patient weighs 70 kg. What dose D in mcg/kg/min is the patient receiving? Round to one decimal place.
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). The record shows a patient's intake and output for one 12-hour shift. The IV infusion ran at the rate shown for the whole shift. Find the total intake I in mL.
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A 1000 mL infusion starts at 16:00 at 100 mL/h. After 4 hours the rate is changed to 125 mL/h and is not changed again. How many hours t after the start will the bag be empty? Round to one decimal place.
Answer: A · It adjusts for the larger head and smaller legs of young children
In young children the head makes up a larger share and the legs a smaller share of body surface area than in adults. The Lund and Browder chart adjusts for age, giving a more accurate estimate to guide fluid treatment.
Answer: A · A brain tumour with raised intracranial pressure
Early-morning headache and vomiting suggest raised intracranial pressure, and clumsiness suggests a lesion in the cerebellum, a common site in children. Urgent neuroimaging is needed.
Answer: R = 30.6 mL/h
Heparin and insulin infusions: concentration = units in the bag/bag volume (units/mL). Pump rate (mL/h) = units per hour/concentration, and units per hour = mL/h × concentration. For a weight-based order, units/h = units/kg/h × weight first. A bolus volume = units needed/vial strength. The numbers are for practice only; at the bedside always follow local protocols and have high-risk doses double-checked.
Answer: D = 14.3 mcg/kg/min
Titrated drips: first find the concentration in mcg/mL (mg × 1000/mL). For a weight-based order, mcg/min = mcg/kg/min × weight. Then mL/h = mcg/min × 60/concentration. Working backwards, mcg/kg/min = mL/h × concentration/(60 × weight). The numbers are for practice only; at the bedside always follow local protocols and have high-risk doses double-checked.
Answer: I = 1360 mL
Intake and output: intake counts everything that goes in (oral fluids, IV infusions, IV medications and flushes, tube feeds); ice chips count as half their volume. Output counts urine, drains, vomit and other losses. Balance = total intake − total output; a negative balance is a net loss. The numbers are for practice only; at the bedside always follow local protocols and have high-risk doses double-checked.
Answer: t = 8.8 h
Infusion time: time (h) = volume to infuse (mL)/rate (mL/h); use the volume still left in the bag, not the bag size. Volume infused = rate × time. Convert decimal hours to hours and minutes with the fraction × 60 (0.5 h = 30 min, not 50 min). The numbers are for practice only; at the bedside always follow local protocols and have high-risk doses double-checked.
That is about 8 h 48 min, so the bag runs out at about 00:48.
ExamProblems · examproblems.com/courses/pediatric-nursing