Lemon Bars Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I work at a kid's camp as an EMT. About a month ago we had a 12 year old girl come into the health office; she was hot and lethargic. We gave her water, cool wet towels, rest, then some Gatorade. An hour passed but she never felt much better. We ended up calling 911 for an ambulence, she went to the hospital, where they gave her fluids and electroltyes for dehydration. Why didn't she recover from our efforts and did we wait too long to send her to the hospital? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Bars Posted June 13, 2012 Author Share Posted June 13, 2012 I work at a kid's camp as an EMT. About a month ago we had a 12 year old girl come into the health office; she was hot and lethargic. We gave her water, cool wet towels, rest, then some Gatorade. An hour passed but she never felt much better. We ended up calling 911 for an ambulence, she went to the hospital, where they gave her fluids and electroltyes for dehydration. Why didn't she recover from our efforts and did we wait too long to send her to the hospital? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Bars Posted June 13, 2012 Author Share Posted June 13, 2012 I work at a kid's camp as an EMT. About a month ago we had a 12 year old girl come into the health office; she was hot and lethargic. We gave her water, cool wet towels, rest, then some Gatorade. An hour passed but she never felt much better. We ended up calling 911 for an ambulence, she went to the hospital, where they gave her fluids and electroltyes for dehydration. Why didn't she recover from our efforts and did we wait too long to send her to the hospital? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostnineone Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Didn't restore enough fluids maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostnineone Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Didn't restore enough fluids maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostnineone Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Didn't restore enough fluids maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madison1979 Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Oral rehydration can be effective if the patient has lost <5-10% of total body water. This presents as a normal appearing kid, but HR might be slightly elevated and decreased urine output. Other vital signs are normal as the body is able to compensate for the mild dehydration. Greater than 10% total body water loss, i.e. moderate dehydration presents as people getting lethargic, dry mucous membranes, orthostatic (BP drops when they stand up), etc. The body then is not able to completely compensate for the water loss through homeostatic mechanisms and symptoms get worse. This signifies the need for IV fluids usually, though enough oral rehydration may work if given enough time and what was causing the dehydration in the first place is corrected. It takes about 2 hours for oral fluids to make inside cells to have an effect. Thing with kids is they have a huge capacity for homeostatic compensation, so they tend to compensate easily with reduced symptoms and then crash once their compensatory mechanisms are overwhelmed. So if there are vital sign changes and lethargy in kids due to dehydration, IV rehydration is best as it is the quickest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madison1979 Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Oral rehydration can be effective if the patient has lost <5-10% of total body water. This presents as a normal appearing kid, but HR might be slightly elevated and decreased urine output. Other vital signs are normal as the body is able to compensate for the mild dehydration. Greater than 10% total body water loss, i.e. moderate dehydration presents as people getting lethargic, dry mucous membranes, orthostatic (BP drops when they stand up), etc. The body then is not able to completely compensate for the water loss through homeostatic mechanisms and symptoms get worse. This signifies the need for IV fluids usually, though enough oral rehydration may work if given enough time and what was causing the dehydration in the first place is corrected. It takes about 2 hours for oral fluids to make inside cells to have an effect. Thing with kids is they have a huge capacity for homeostatic compensation, so they tend to compensate easily with reduced symptoms and then crash once their compensatory mechanisms are overwhelmed. So if there are vital sign changes and lethargy in kids due to dehydration, IV rehydration is best as it is the quickest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madison1979 Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Oral rehydration can be effective if the patient has lost <5-10% of total body water. This presents as a normal appearing kid, but HR might be slightly elevated and decreased urine output. Other vital signs are normal as the body is able to compensate for the mild dehydration. Greater than 10% total body water loss, i.e. moderate dehydration presents as people getting lethargic, dry mucous membranes, orthostatic (BP drops when they stand up), etc. The body then is not able to completely compensate for the water loss through homeostatic mechanisms and symptoms get worse. This signifies the need for IV fluids usually, though enough oral rehydration may work if given enough time and what was causing the dehydration in the first place is corrected. It takes about 2 hours for oral fluids to make inside cells to have an effect. Thing with kids is they have a huge capacity for homeostatic compensation, so they tend to compensate easily with reduced symptoms and then crash once their compensatory mechanisms are overwhelmed. So if there are vital sign changes and lethargy in kids due to dehydration, IV rehydration is best as it is the quickest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Bars Posted June 14, 2012 Author Share Posted June 14, 2012 Ok thank you, Madison! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Bars Posted June 14, 2012 Author Share Posted June 14, 2012 Ok thank you, Madison! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Bars Posted June 14, 2012 Author Share Posted June 14, 2012 Ok thank you, Madison! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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