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1Formulas and methods
Pediatric nursing
Method
Note the child’s age first: it sets the normal vital signs, the milestones and the right pain scale.
Assess airway, breathing and circulation, remembering that children compensate and then deteriorate fast.
Match the action to the development stage and involve the family.
Check that the answer is safe for a child: weight-based, no aspirin in viral illness, no codeine under 12.
Pediatric & critical-care dosing
Daily dose
mg/day = mg/kg/day × weight (kg)
Doses per day
number = 24 h / dosing interval (h)
Pounds to kilograms
kg = lb / 2.2
Infusion concentration
units/mL = units in bag / bag volume
Pump rate
mL/h = dose per hour / concentration
Titrated drip
mL/h = mcg/kg/min × kg × 60 / (mcg/mL)
Dose from pump rate
mcg/kg/min = mL/h × (mcg/mL) / (60 × kg)
Units
1 mg = 1000 mcg
IV fluids & fluid balance
Holliday–Segar per hour
4 mL/kg (first 10 kg) + 2 mL/kg (next 10 kg) + 1 mL/kg (each kg above 20)
Holliday–Segar per day
100 / 50 / 20 mL/kg for the same bands
Fluid balance
intake − output
Ice chips
count as half their volume
Urine output
mL/kg/h = mL / (kg × h)
Infusion time
time (h) = volume left (mL) / rate (mL/h)
Volume infused
mL = rate × time
2Practice problems
1.Pediatric nursingMedium
How should a nurse prepare a 4-year-old for a procedure?
AExplain shortly beforehand in simple words, and let the child handle the equipment or play with a doll
BExplain nothing to avoid frightening the child
CShow diagrams of the internal organs
DGive a detailed explanation a week in advance
2.Pediatric nursingHard
Which complication is a leading cause of death from measles in children?
APneumonia
BConjunctivitis
CDiarrhoea
DOtitis media
3.Pediatric & critical-care dosingMedium
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A bag contains 25 000 units of heparin in 500 mL. The order is 18 units/kg/h for a patient who weighs 64 kg. At what rate R do you set the pump, in mL/h? Round to one decimal place.
25 000 units/500 mL18 units/kg/h64 kg
R = mL/h
4.Pediatric & critical-care dosingHard
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A dobutamine infusion of 250 mg in 250 mL runs at 13 mL/h. The patient weighs 81 kg. What dose D in mcg/kg/min is the patient receiving? Round to one decimal place.
250 mg/250 mL13 mL/h81 kg
D = mcg/kg/min
5.IV fluids & fluid balanceMedium
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). The record shows a patient's intake and output for one 8-hour shift. The IV infusion ran at the rate shown for the whole shift. Find the total intake I in mL. Count ice chips as half their volume.
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A 500 mL bag runs by pump at 150 mL/h. At 17:00, 250 mL have already been infused. How many hours t until the bag is empty? Round to one decimal place.
500 mL250 mL infused150 mL/h
t = h
3Solutions
1.Pediatric nursing
Answer: A · Explain shortly beforehand in simple words, and let the child handle the equipment or play with a doll
Why this is the answer
Preschoolers do best with short, concrete explanations just before the procedure and with medical play. Long advance warnings increase fear, and diagrams are better for school-age children.
Answer
A · Explain shortly beforehand in simple words, and let the child handle the equipment or play with a doll
2.Pediatric nursing
Answer: A · Pneumonia
Why this is the answer
Pneumonia, from measles itself or from secondary bacterial infection, causes most measles-related deaths in children. Encephalitis is a rarer but serious complication; vaccination prevents both.
Answer
A · Pneumonia
3.Pediatric & critical-care dosing
Answer: R = 23 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.
Units per hour
18·64 = 1 152 units/h
Concentration
25 000/500 = 50 units/mL
Pump rate
R = 1152/50 = 23.04 ≈ 23 mL/h
Answer
R = 23 mL/h
4.Pediatric & critical-care dosing
Answer: D = 2.7 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.
Concentration
250 000/250 = 1000 mcg/mL
Micrograms per minute
13·1000 = 13000 mcg/h
13000/60 = 216.7 mcg/min
Per kilogram
D = 216.7/81 = 2.675 ≈ 2.7 mcg/kg/min
Answer
D = 2.7 mcg/kg/min
5.IV fluids & fluid balance
Answer: I = 1620 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.
Add the intake
oral: 200 + 180 + 300 = 680 mL
ice chips: 200/2 = 100 mL
IV infusion: 80·8 = 640 mL
IV antibiotic: 2·100 = 200 mL
I = 1620 mL
Answer
I = 1620 mL
6.IV fluids & fluid balance
Answer: t = 1.7 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.
Volume left
500 − 250 = 250 mL
Time
t = 250/150 = 1.667 ≈ 1.7 h
Answer
t = 1.7 h
That is about 1 h 40 min, so the bag runs out at about 18:40.