A nurse taking a daily weight on a child with diabetes insipidus notes the child has lost 2 pounds in 24 hours. Which is the nurse's priority action?
1. Continue to monitor the child.
2. Notify the physician regarding the weight loss.
3. Chart the weight and report the loss to the next shift.
4. Do nothing more than chart the weight, as this would be a normal finding.
2
Rationale:
1. This is a significant loss in a 24-hour period, so continuing to monitor the child would prolong treatment.
2. With diabetes insipidus, the child might have severe fluid volume deficit. A weight loss of 2 pounds indicates a loss of 1 L of fluid, so the physician should be notified and the fluids replaced either orally or intravenously.
3. This is a significant loss in a 24-hour period, so charting the weight and reporting to the next shift would prolong treatment.
4. This is a significant loss in a 24-hour period, so doing nothing would prolong treatment.
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