Respiratory Flashcards
Why are respiratory issues in children concerning?
They don’t have as much respiratory reserve or musculature. They also have an immature immune system.
What is the child’s trachea like?
What does this mean?
Shorter and narrower than an adults.
It technically makes breathing even harder.
What about the bronchi?
Bronchi angle is more acute
What about their tongue?
Infant tongue is huge in relation to their mouth.
What about the size of the nares?
The nose nostrils are smaller and it makes it harder to breath - especially since they’re obligate nose breathers
What is the epiglottis like in infants and children?
Longer and floppier
What about soft tissue and alveoli development?
Children/infants have ore soft tissue but fewer alveoli.
What about the chest wall?
The chest does not have the development that ours does
as adults.
T/F
Adults are at bigger risk for obstruction of the airway than children
False.
Children are way more at risk for obstruction. And can be from literally anything
What should we look for first when assessing a child?
Their general appearance and behavior. Alert? Restless? Color? Skin perfusion? Positioning for comfort?
What if a patient has a weak cough?
Very concerning. Shows that their body can no longer compensate for the issue for the cough.
When listening to the chest, why is it important to differentiate between breath sound?
Different issues have different breath sounds
When the patient coughs, should we pay attention to the characteristics of their cough?
Yes. Different disease will present with different types of coughing.
Again, weak cough is not good. Means they can’t compensate.
When checking vital signs, what is the most important thing to look for?
Trends. If all of a sudden a trend changes and it cant be explain by pt condition, you have a problem.
When checking respiratorions what should you look for besides rate?
Need to check for whether their breathing is labored. Or if they need to use extra muscles above clavicle or outside the sternum
What does grunting indicate?
Body is trying to push open the alveoli
How might the body compensate for nose breathing?
Nare flaring
What if the patient has a mottled color?
What should you check?
This means the body is only perfusing the core and not the extremities to compensate
Check O2 and Co2
Late signs of respiratory distress
Poor air entry Apnea or gasping Deterioration or change in responsiveness Bradycardia Cyanosis
What type of illnesses are tonsillitis and pharyngitis?
Symptoms 3
Usually viral herpes unless it is strep
Sore throat
Fever
Swollen lymph nodes and edema (including adenoids)
What is a big issue with having tonsillitis?
Main form of care?
Why do we need to treat kids if they have strep?
Kids may not want to drink anything. Need to find ways to get kids to drink or get fluids
We want to control pain
Strep can cause kidney issues so need to give antibiotics.
Education when giving antibiotics for strep?
Wait full 24 hrs and finis off the meds
Why might someone get a tonsillectomy?
Will they remove adenoids?
Chronic strep
They assess adenoids if they need to.
Why would they do a tonsillectomy due to snoring?
Snoring is a sign of tonsil obstruction
How to care for someone with a tonsillectomy?
What if they frequently swallow?
Pain management with ice collar
Positioning - they can’t be on their back
Swallowing means bleeding which can lead to vomiting
Should you let a kid after tonsillectomy drink with a straw?
or blow nose?
No, these things add pressure inside the mouth.
NEED to educate on this.
