Case Study of Poppy: Priorities for Nursing Assessment and Care

Case Study of Poppy: Priorities for Nursing Assessment and Care

The case study involves the infant Poppy who is a child of Lizzie. The mother has noticed some signs which show that the child is unwell. From the mother's reporting, she has noticed that the child is not feeding correctly, and whenever Poppy tries to suck on the teat, she seems tired to feed and snuffly. Another important observation is the sleeping cycle, as the child sleeps more than usual and makes a grunting noise during sleep. Further, the concern makes Lizzie take her child to a general practitioner who takes the infant's vitals. The results also confirm the worries of the mother. This includes a rapid breathing rate above the average and low oxygen saturation. The breathing rate based on stethoscope recordings is 65 breaths per minute, and the oxygen saturation at 89%. Due to these conditions, the GP calls an ambulance and takes Poppy to a hospital, where she gets admitted to the emergency department for children.

From this case study, it is evident that Poppy is suffering from a lower respiratory tract infection. The infection is causing the lungs not to have enough oxygen, which is critical in the body and transportation of blood through the body (de Benedictis et al. 2018, p.362). Considering the amount of oxygen based on the low saturation of 89% compared to a required 92% and above, the child is in danger of contracting cyanosis and needs an average breathing rate to be stabilized and the body hydrated. Some medication can also help fight the infection for stability as the child is admitted to the ward for more observation and treatment (Boloursaz et al., 2013, p.93). Besides, the doctor also noted some recessions in the chest. According to Paul et al. (2011, p.29), a person experiencing difficulty in breathing also displays the symptoms of grunting and recessions in the chest wall, resulting from the forced expiration against a closed glottis. Therefore, the grunting sound in Lizzie's sleep and observation by the general practitioner regarding the recessions in the chest wall indicate Lizzie is experiencing difficulty breathing.

Based on the diagnosis, the assessment of the care needs should be in the order of administering medications that help the child to stabilize breathing and fight the infection. In this case, the nurses should be able to monitor the child to ensure that the oxygen saturation is equal to or above 92 percent before admission to the ward. Secondly, the respiratory rate should also be monitored to be normalized to below 50 breaths per minute. As the child responds to the antibiotic medications for respiratory tract infections, the grunting and chest recessions should also be receding. Based on Mahashur's (2018, p. 143) article, clarithromycin medication can help manage the lower respiratory tract infection that Lizzie is experiencing. Once transferred to the ward, these vitals should be continued to be monitored and recorded to see the child's progress, including observation of the feeding improvement (Malosh et al. 2018, p.141). In this case, the feeding requirement should exceed at least 50% of the daily need to ensure the infant is hydrated and that the mother observes the child closely in collaboration with the nurses who conduct frequent checks. In addition to the care needs, the nurses should ensure that the environment and setting are clean enough and well aerated to ensure that the child does not acquire other hospital infections, which could hinder the fast recovery of the child.

Reference List

Boloursaz, M., Lotfian, F., Aghahosseini, F., Cheraghvandi, A., Khalilzadeh, S., Farjah, A. and Boloursaz, M., 2013. Epidemiology of Lower Respiratory Tract Infections in Children. Journal of Comprehensive Pediatrics, 3(3), pp.93-8.

de Benedictis, F. and Bush, A., 2018. Recurrent lower respiratory tract infections in children. BMJ, p.362.

Mahashur, A., 2018. Management of lower respiratory tract infection in outpatient settings: Focus on clarithromycin. Lung India, 35(2), p.143.

Malosh, R., Martin, E., Ortiz, J. and Monto, A., 2018. The risk of lower respiratory tract infection following influenza virus infection: A systematic and narrative review. Vaccine, 36(1), pp.141-147.

Paul, S., O’Callaghan, C. and McKee, N., 2011. Effective management of lower respiratory tract infections in childhood. Nursing Children and Young People, 23(9), pp.27-34.