Fever Case Study (Pediatric) (30 min)

Included In This Lesson
Study Tools For Fever Case Study (Pediatric) (30 min)
Outline
A 3-month-old child presents to the emergency room with her mother. The mother reports that the baby is not acting like herself and she is having a hard time arousing the baby. Upon inspection the baby is wrapped in blankets in her car seat sleeping. The nurse unwraps the baby and feels heat radiating off the child.
The vital signs are as follows:
Temp 104°F Rectally
HR 150 bpm
RR 32 bpm
SpO2 99%
BP 66/32 mmHg (54 MAP)
The child is not opening their eyes or crying. The nurse notices the fontanelle is sunken in and the baby’s skin is hot but dry.
What questions should the nurse ask the mother?
What are priority nursing actions at this time?
Baby is 5.9 kg and the nurse initiates a peripheral IV for the baby. The provider orders rectal Tylenol at the appropriate weight-based dose.
How much fluids should the baby receive and which vital signs is the most concerning at this time?
The baby has received the fluid bolus and rectal Tylenol. The nurse checks another set of vitals and gets the following:
Temp 101 F Rectally
HR 141
RR 30
SpO2 99%
BP 68/42 mmHg (59 MAP)
What should the nurse do next?
Nursing Case Studies
This nursing case study course is designed to help nursing students build critical thinking. Each case study was written by experienced nurses with first hand knowledge of the “real-world” disease process. To help you increase your nursing clinical judgement (critical thinking), each case study includes answers laid out by Blooms Taxonomy to help you see that you are progressing to clinical analysis.
We encourage you to read the case study and really through the “critical thinking checks” as this is where the real learning occurs. If you get tripped up by a specific question, no worries, just dig into an associated lesson on the topic and reinforce your understanding. In the end, that is what nursing case studies are all about – growing in your clinical judgement.