Università degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia
Corso di laurea in infermieristica - Sede di Modena

Abstract

Acute gastroenteritis is one of the leading causes of death and morbidity in children under the age of five years, and dehydration is the main complication: the younger the child is, the more dangerous the dehydration will be. Through a review of the literature by consulting the biomedical databases, this thesis has the aim to show the pediatric patient management with a clinical picture of dehydration, focusing on the correct medical treatment and on the important role of the nursing staff. Children are generally rehydrated by mouth or intravenously: the first way is considered the treatment of choice, the second one must be considered only in particular situations. From the literature's information, we can clearly see that there are approximately 80.000 accesses to pediatric Emergency Room every year of children under the age of 5, who suffer from acute gastroenteritis; it implies the essential role of the nurse in triage, in order to have a correct and quick assessment of the level of dehydration, and the following implementation of the necessary nursing interventions. Moreover, it's necessary that the nurse, after building a relationship of trust with the child's family, educates them about how they should act in order to prevent the disease and its spread. In this regard, a prototype of an information leaflet has been created, and it contains some tips that can make the parents aware about what acute gastroenteritis really is, signs and symptoms associated with it, what behavior the caregiver should adopt in order to prevent the outbreak of the disease, and eventually, in which cases contacting the health professionals is opportune.