Nursing Assessment

If the cause is due to hypovolemia you may observe the child for dry mucus membrane, poor skin turger, hypotension and oliguria.

You should also observe the child for signs of fatigue, bleeding tendencies, hyperkalemia, weakness of extremities, a tingling sensation of mouth, tongue or extremities, and bradycardia. They should also be observed for anorexia, nausea, vomiting, and gastronitestinal bleeding which may occur due to stress ulcers.

Laboratory findings include; azotemia, increased blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine, metabolic acidosis, hyponatremia, hypokalemia, hypocalcemia and anaemia.