pediatric vital signs

[dan_dfc]

What is the routine in your ER for checking BP on infants and toddlers. I'm a pretty new nurse, 1 year out of school and at our ER BP is RARELY checked on infants and toddlers, routine vitals would usually be pulse, respirations, pulse ox, temp, and appropriate pain scale. (this is assuming the pt is alert, pink, cap refill

I'd love to hear from some of you guys on what your guidlines are, espescially those of you in pedi ER's.

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

I attempt a BP on all patients, no matter the age. With peds, it certainly can be difficult if they're upset/screaming/crying, etc. (I tell them that cuff is going to give their arm a big hug. ) But if it's impossible to get a BP in triage or at the start of their visit, I'll wait until later, when/if they calm down. And if a ped is going to be admitted, I'd make sure to get a BP, because I know the receiving RN will want that information.

[xos4eva]

i work in a peds only er and we attempt to do blood pressures on all patients over the age of 2. in emergency situations or serious cases or consious sedations we do blood pressures on the patient regardless of the age. we have blood pressure cuffs ranging from neonate to extra large adult. it also depends on the child. some of them are screaming, fighting and shouting and we sometimes defer the bp reading. you should speak to your er administrator and look at policy and procedure because each facility has their own guidelines. hope that helps.

[argos]

My facility does not do bp on kids under the age of 6. Children do compensate very well and then abruptly crash so you can probably rest easy if they don't have a tachycardia which would be compensating for low bp. If they look that bad then the child needs to get to back right away and all vitals can wait. Rule of thumb is to get all vitals on anyone being transferred because you may feel like a dumby if you can't answer the receiving rn's questions.

[Penguin67]

I worked pediatric ED, and we checked a b/p on everyone. Yes, kids compensate differently and yes, it's not always fun to do, but yes it can provide valuable information on your patient. Not checking a b/p on a child is not doing a full assessment on your patient. You might be overlooking a pediatric heart defect that is otherwise asymtomatic, but not assessing a b/p.

[ERjodiRN]

we don't generally do bp's on the kiddos unless we're going to be giving meds that could affect it, doing a conscious sedation, or if they are being admitted. if it's an obviously very sick little one, we're doing bp's from the get go. it really comes down to your own discretion.

[jayne109, RN]

Our policy was everyone gets a BP because of "screening for HTN early". The other ER I worked, it was just if the DR wanted it (rare). I really did them if they were bigger kids and were adult sized ( you know who I am talking about). Just my 2 cents

[vaughanmk]

I work in a level 1 peds er. In triage we only get a BP on kids over 2. A majority of our kiddos under 3 never get a BP. Only if it's warrented by condition, admission or as deemed necessary by anyone.

[Displaced]

Recently, I had to get a BP on a small kid because of an amphetamine ingestion. That was a pain in the ass. Most of the time we don't bother, unless requested by the doc.

[ashleyjean3]

we get BP on kids 3 and older

[MobileNurseSara]

Doppler BP (SBP/pulse) for infants and traditional for toddlers & up.

[nuangel1, BSN, RN]

we don't do a b/p on most kids it depends on the circumstances however .