Pediatric Nursing

Extend and further strengthen your knowledge about the concepts of Pediatric Nursing with these 40
Nursing Bullets. These Nursing Bullets are bite-sized information that are easy to absorb and best to be read
during your reviews for NCLEX or the board exams.

Topics

Included topics are:

Pediatric HIV

Roseola

Tractions

Various diseases afflicting the pediatric clients

Bullets

Here are the pediatric nursing bullets:

1. A child with HIV-positive blood should receive inactivated poliovirus

vaccine (IPV) rather than oral

poliovirus vaccine (OPV) immunization.

2. To achieve postural drainage in an infant, place a pillow on the nurses lap and lay the infant across

it.

3. A child with cystic fibrosis should eat more calories, protein, vitamins, and minerals than a child without

the disease.

4. Infants subsisting on cows milk only dont receive a sufficient amount of iron (ferrous sulfate), which will

eventually result in iron deficiency anemia.

5. A child with an undiagnosed infection should be placed in isolation.
6. An infant usually triples his birth weight by the end of his first year.

7. Clinical signs of a dehydrated infant include: lethargy, irritability, dry skin decreased tearing, decreased

urinary output, and increased pulse.

8. Appropriate care of a child with meningitis includes frequent assessment of neurologic status (i.e.,

decreasing levels of consciousness, difficulty to arouse) and measuring the circumference of the head
because subdural effusions and obstructive hydrocephalus can develop.

9. Expected clinical findings in a newborn with cerebral palsy include reflexive hypertonicity and

crisscrossing or scissoring leg movements.

10. Papules, vesicles, and crust are all present at the same time in the early phase of chickenpox.

kidshealth.org
11. Topical corticosteroids shouldnt be used on chickenpox lesions.

Chicken Pox. Image via.

12. A serving size of a food is usually one (1) tablespoon for each year of age.
13. The characteristic of Fifth disease (erythema infectiosum) is erythema on the face, primarily the cheeks,

giving a slapped face appearance.

Fifth disease rash.

14. Adolescents may brave pain, especially in front of peers. Therefore, offer analgesics if pain is suspected

or administer the medication if the client asks for it.

15. Signs that a child with cystic fibrosis is responding to pancreatic enzymes are the absence of

steatorrhea, improved appetite, and absence of abdominal pain.

16. Roseola appears as discrete rose-pink macules that first appear on the trunk and that fade when

pressure is applied.

17. A ninety-ninety traction (90 degree90 degree skeletal traction) is used for fracture of a childs femur or

tibia.

18. One sign of developmental dysplasia is limping during ambulation.

Ninety-ninety traction

19. A small-for-gestational age (SGA) infant is one whose length, weight, and head circumference are

below the 10th percentile of the normal variation for gestation age as determined by neonatal examination.

20. Neonatal abstinence syndrome is manifested in central nervous system hyperirritability (e.g.,

hyperactive Moro reflex) and gastrointestinal symptoms (watery stools).

21. Classic signs of shaken baby syndrome are seizures, slow apical pulse difficulty breathing, and retinal

hemorrhage.

22. An infant born to an HIV-positive mother will usually receive AZT (zidovudine) for the first 6 weeks of life.
23. Infants born to an HIV-positive mother should receive all immunizations of schedule.
24. Blood pressure in the arms and legs is essentially the same in infants.
25. When bottle-feeding a newborn with a cleft palate, hold the infants head in an upright position.
26. Because of circulating maternal antibodies that will decrease the immune response, the measles,

mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine shouldnt be given until the infant has reached one (1) year of age.

27. Before feeding an infant any fluid that has been warmed, test a drop of the liquid on your own skin to

prevent scalding the infant.

28. A newborn typically wets 6 to 10 diapers per day.

29. Although microwaving food and fluids isnt recommended for infants, its common in the United States.

Therefore the family should be taught to test the temperature of the food or fluid against their own skin
before allowing it to be consumed by the infant.

30. The most adequate diet for an infant in the first 6 months of life is breast milk.
31. An infant can usually chew food by 7 months, hold spoon by 9 months, and drink fluid from a cup by one

year of age.

32. Choking from mechanical obstruction is the leading cause of death (by suffocation) for infants younger

than 1 year of age.

33. Failure to thrive is a term used to describe an infant who falls below the fifth percentile for weight and

height on a standard measurement chart.

34. Developmental theories include Havighursts age periods and developmental tasks; Freuds five stages

of development;

35. Kohlbergs stages of moral development; Eriksons eight stages of development; and Piagets stages of

cognitive development.

36. The primary concern with infusing large volumes of fluid is circulatory overload. This is especially true

in children and infants, and in clients with renal disease (or any person with renal disease, for that matter).

37. Certain hazards present increased risk of harm to children and occur more often at different ages. For

infants, more falls, burns, and suffocation occur; for toddlers, there are more burns, poisoning, and drowning
for preschoolers, more playground equipment accidents, choking, poisoning, and drowning; and for
adolescents, more automobile accidents, drowning, fires, and firearm accidents.

38. A child in Bryants traction whos younger than age 3 or weighs less than 30 lb (13.6 kg) should have

the buttocks slightly elevated and clear or the bed. The knees should be slightly flexed, and the legs should
be extended at a right angle to the body.

39. The body provides the traction mechanism.

Bryants Traction

40. In an infant, a bulging fontanel is the most significant sign of increasing intracranial pressure.