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Care of the pediatric near-drowning victim. A nursing challenge
Insights
Near-drowning in children impacts multiple organ systems and requires comprehensive nursing care. Nurses assess pediatric patients and families, developing tailored interventions for effective recovery and prevention.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric critical care nursing
- Near-drowning pathophysiology
- Family-centered care
Background:
- Near-drowning incidents in children cause multi-systemic effects, including hypoxia impacting pulmonary, neurologic, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and renal systems.
- Additional complications include infection risk, immobility, and psychological distress for the child and family.
- Families face challenges with altered coping and knowledge deficits regarding home care and drowning prevention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the complex pathophysiologic effects of near-drowning in pediatric victims.
- To emphasize the critical role of ongoing, comprehensive nursing assessment in identifying child and family needs.
- To underscore the importance of individualized nursing diagnoses, goal setting, and intervention development for effective care.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing knowledge of near-drowning pathophysiology and complications.
- Conducting accurate and comprehensive ongoing nursing assessments.
- Formulating nursing diagnoses with measurable, patient-centered goals.
- Developing and evaluating pertinent nursing interventions.
Main Results:
- Nursing assessments identify the multifaceted needs of pediatric near-drowning victims and their families.
- Tailored nursing diagnoses and goals facilitate targeted interventions.
- Continuous evaluation and revision of interventions ensure effectiveness in managing complications and supporting recovery.
Conclusions:
- Effective care for pediatric near-drowning survivors hinges on a thorough understanding of their complex physiological and psychological needs.
- A systematic nursing process, including assessment, diagnosis, goal setting, and intervention, is integral to optimizing outcomes.
- Addressing family coping and knowledge deficits is crucial for successful home care and future drowning prevention.
Abstract:
In the pediatric near-drowning victim, hypoxia and related pathophysiologic factors affect the pulmonary, neurologic, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and renal systems. Other complications arise from the potential for infection; the immobile state; and anxiety and fear related to the hospitalization. Altered coping mechanisms and knowledge deficits related to home care and drowning prevention offer problems that the family must overcome during the recovery of their child from the near-drowning insult. Using this knowledge and the accurate, comprehensive ongoing nursing assessments, the nurse must recognize the needs of the child and family. The nurse then formulates appropriate nursing diagnoses with measurable patient-centered goals for each diagnosis and develops pertinent nursing interventions that can be continually evaluated for effectiveness and revised as needed. This process is integral to the effective care of the child and family who experience a near-drowning incident.