RSV season is upon us...

dawngloves, BSN, RN · Nov 8, 2002

No, but all good ideas!

maureeno · Nov 8, 2002

RSV almost killed my son 19 years ago. He was 4 months old with a large VSD and we figure he caught the virus from a string on a balloon a neighbor gave him. Keep advocating for your patients.

prmenrs, RN · Nov 8, 2002

I'd sure want those pts vaccinated. We give their 1st dose before they go home, and educate for good follow/up.

dawngloves, BSN, RN · Nov 8, 2002

NicuGal, do you mean vax them while they are inpatients? We give them Synagis on discharge, but I like your idea better!

NICU_Nurse, BSN, RN · Nov 8, 2002

We vax them as inpatients, and let them do follow-ups with the Peds clinic. This works out nicely for everyone. We have to order the Synagis in a batch, and three babies have to have orders for it before Pharmacy will send it up, so sometimes the order can sit in the chart for a week or more, but usually it isn't a problem. when we have three or more babies, we fax all the orders again and Pharmacy send it up and we hit them all at the same time. ;>)

As far as I see it, their immunity is so weak already, being preemies or being hospitalized for so long, that it would be a crime to NOT give it while we have access to them. Lord only knows what happens to them once they leave our care. I feel almost like it's an obligation, but one I am glad to fulfill.

Visitation on our unit is strict to begin with, no siblings ever unless they're adult (I think...might be over 17?). I wish we did restrict more during RSV season. There has been a horrible cold going around on our unit and so far the babies seem fine, but almost ALL of the nurses have had it. We were all trying to figure out where we got it, and apparantly a mom visiting her baby had it, passed it to one nurse, and it's just been a chain reaction from there. Maybe we should keep the nurses home, too. ;>) Mandatory time off for sniffles and a hacking cough? Whaddya think? I'd go for it.

nell · Nov 8, 2002

We already restrict sibling visitation to only one visit per hospitalization (although we bend this rule on long-termers which for us is about 3.5 months max) and they must be screened and scrubbed.

We give Synagis just before D/C except one time when the parents of a preemie freaked out that we had an RSV kid in the unit - yes we take outside admits with RSV. They go into one of our "isolation" rooms. We have argued and argued that RSV doesn't belong in a unit like ours (6 beds to a bay, one of them isolation - sink is at the back of the isolation room and only one other sink the bay) but our CNS insists that with good handwashing, the other babies aren't at risk.

Our concern is the possibility that while one nurse is on break, the other nurse in the bay may be in the isolation room when one of the preemies bradys and needs stim STAT. Do you take time to wash? Oh yeah, we have waterless stuff, but no one uses it because it is so highly scented that IT make babies brady, and some of us are allergic to it.

Very good idea to give it sooner, and we have never shared a bottle, but what a great idea!!! I will bring up these possibilities at work.

NicuGal, MSN, RN · Nov 10, 2002

Luckily, most of the readmits go to the PICU or Peds floor. Although we have to float during RSV season and even though we are supposed to get clean kids, you just know they have it...green boogies galore! BLEH

The attending that are on this month aren't seeing our point in giving these chronic kids the Synergis....we told them, well, we can't call in when we are sick, and even if we wear a mask, does that really matter?

We are getting a lot of resistance from our CNS about closing visitation...who knows why! The peds floors do it and so does the PICU and the nurseries. We feel that it should be for all MCN, and we shouldn't be the exception. Ugh, I hate these kinds of battles!

Mimi2RN, ASN, RN · Nov 17, 2002

Last year one of our growing premies (an ex-26 weeker, 10 weeks old), acquired RSV from her mother and was immediately transferred to peds. We were glad no one else, babies or staff, caught it! This year we have to have 4 RSV cases on peds at the same time, before visiting will be restricted.

live4today, RN · Nov 17, 2002

Ugh is right....this is the RSV season indeed! How I remember the days on the pedi units I worked on in the past. Yuckee!!!

Poor babies, poor toddlers, poor nursing staff! :nurse:

Here's some :balloons: for you all to make you feel better! :kiss

nurseiam · Nov 18, 2002

Last year our unit had two babies and one nurse that had RSV. wethink the parents of one of the babies gave it to the nurse. But who knows! We gave every baby in that room the Synergist. It was the first time in 20+ years our unit had RSV.