[jaquar]

i was wondering what everyone is practicing in regards to iv therapy on kids. presently we use pediatric iv tubing on all kids under 16 years and all kids under 6 have iv pump also.
do you go by weight or age for your iv therpy? and will you share guidelines no matter which ever it is..............thanks

[cab631]

I am in the process of rewriting the pediatric policies for our hospital. In the past, children under 12 required the use of a buretrol and a pump, but the new policy will require a pump always, and buretrol only if the amount of fluid in the IV bag is more than 250cc. You have to consider the outcome if a peds pt. were to get the whole bag of fluid dumped into him, thus the buretrol/small volume bag. Also, as far as weight, the Broselow tape is the standard, as I understand, and any pediatric pt. who exceeds the measure of a Broselow tape, is tx with weight based fluids/meds/tx. Max wt. for peds on the Broselow system is 68 LBs. (34 Kg.) If you have info that differs from this, let's discuss it.

[nowplayingEDRN]

we go by weight and age....but primarily weight and we use a Buretrol set and an infusion pump, using PALS guidelines for fluid resucitation in pediatric patients.

[zologista]

Greetings,
It sounds as if you are all seasoned pediatric nurses. As for me, I recently moved. I was employed by a small rual hospital that serves pediatrics as well as geriatrics and everything in between. I floated between med/surg which includes pediatrics and ER. I am currently in a similar situation. A small town hospital can be an advantage because generally our pt load is much smaller, however, one disadvantage is that we can not afford to specialize. We are Jacks of all trades but masters of none.
Related to your question, we have a policy to use buretrols with pediatric pt under 70lbs.
On a related subject, I was wondering if there is a contraindication in giving pediatric pt and specifically children under 2 NS for extended periods of time. The last place that I worked generally ordered D51/4NS for the pediatric pt. The doctors at this hospital generally order NS. I went to school 14 almost 15 years ago and I seem to remember that pediatrics shouldn't have NS for extended periods due to renal function. Does Anyone have any information on this, or a trusted website with information?
Thanks for your Help
Zologista