intake and output

Hmm... I've generally never counted solid foods as intake in mL. When looking at intake & output, we're usually concerned about fluid balance, so PO fluid intake (water, milk, soda), IV fluids, or NG/PEG tube feeds. Solid food shouldn't really be converted to liquid volumes.

Right...food intake is *nutritional* data, for when recording calories/carb counts etc. We don't consider butter a fluid although it is a liquid when warm; we don't consider grapes or citrus or watermelon liquids although they have a high water content (compared to, say, a banana.) Likewise, eggs are not a fluid even though they are liquid until a threshhold temperature.

As asystole said, the I&O is about fluid balance. A negative net I&O with a high HR/low BP/low CVP etc is an indication that they need IV fluids or albumin. A large positive net I&O with pulmonary edema is an indication for giving a diuretic.

Eating scrambled eggs won't do a thing to change a fluid balance.

The nurse is completing the intake/output record for a client who had an abdominal cholecystectomy 2 days ago. The client has had the following intake/output during the shift.

Intake:

4 oz of orange juice

1/2 serving of scrambled eggs

6 oz of water

1/2 cup of fruit-flavored gelatin

1 cup of chicken broth

400 cc of 0.45% NaCl IV

Output:

1,000 mL of urine

120 mL of drainage from the T-tube

Calculate the intake in mL.

OK, so now you now that scrambled eggs aren't part of I&O, because I&O refers to fluids, what's your answer? Do they want intake only, or the difference between intake and output? Solve for both.

intake only. i got 1060 by only adding the fluid intake and the gelatin.

That's correct. What's the net, then? Is the patient retaining or losing fluid?

oh i don't know how to calculate that! please share your knowledge if you know?

BTW i would like to say thank you very much to each of you:yes::) for all your contribution!!!!!!!!!

It's a simple subtraction. Examples:

I = 1500, O = 1200. Net is intake > output by 300cc. This is often charted as "+300cc."

I = 1500, O = 1800. Net is output > intake by 300 cc. "-300cc"

I = 1500, O = 1500. "0"

ok awesome. it's funny we never learned about net intake or output in school. i'm in my fourth semester, getting ready to graduate and we are just now learning about intake and output calculations. good thing it's that complicated..it's very simple math! BTW i want to know all yours opinion about ati RN comprehensive predictor..i made a 65.3% and the pass was a 70%....oh i'm so mad, sad, frustrated, petrified,....i'm so worried beyond worried. we get one more chance if we didn't pass but what if i don't pass again? what do i do?!?!? this is killing me. i hope this stress doesn't give me a heart attack. i wonder how do people do on this exam...

As far as the predictor goes, I didn't put much stock into it because ATI is not the best resource for passing the NCLEX (honestly, ATI would expect you to figure out that eggs are part of the liquid intake for I/Os -- :hard eye roll:.). For what it's worth, I got an 88% which somehow correlates to a 99% probability of passing the NCLEX the 1st time (which I did, though I don't attribute any of that success to ATI).

I'm more concerned that your school is just now getting around to teaching basic I/O calculations.

And why do you think it would be important to know somebody's fluid balance? Did they teach you about cardiac output, congestive heart failure, renal failure, dehydration, diuretics, anything like any of that? Don't you know that the nurse will be responsible for keeping an eye on that?