Biography
Biography: Denise Brehmer
Abstract
The purpose of the presentation is to discuss trends in Pediatric Nursing with a focus on childhood obesity, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Otitis Media Treatment. Nursing care of pediatric patients has changed over the years. Practices once thought as normal practice have now been replaced by newer innovative care. Nurses must read the literature to stay abreast of new practices to remain current in the field. Childhood obesity, treatment of otitis media, and prevention of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) are just a few of the trending care topics. Childhood obesity is at epidemic rates in the US partially due to a more sedentary lifestyle than 20 years ago. School lunches had been filled with starch and fat. Busy parents often provide convenience foods or dine out as meals due to their busy schedules further adding more empty calories and a lack of nutritious foods. The nurse plays a crucial role in educating parents regarding making behavior changes for their children. Research revealed that nurses using motivational interview can help children make significant changes in their body mass index (BMI) Tucker, S., Ytterberg, K., Lenoch, L, Schmit, T, Mucha, D., Wooten, J., Lohse, C., Austin, C., &Wahlen, K. (2013). . Overuse of antibiotics results in multi-drug resistance as well as antibiotic use causing antibiotic related adverse effects such as diarrhea (McCormick, D., Chonmaitree, T., Pitman, C., Saeed, K., Friedman, N., Uchida, T., & Baldwin, C., 2005). Watchful waiting has been utilized as current practice in treating otitis media. Rather than provide an antibiotic at the first signs of an ear infection, waiting up to 72 hours has allowed otitis media to resolve on its’ own without an antibiotic therapy. In a comparative study, symptom resolution was quicker with antibiotic use but the number of patients that had complete resolution of symptoms was similar. The antibiotic group had a 74% resolution of symptoms at 7 days while the watchful waiting group had 53% (Hoberman, A., Paradise, J., Rockette, H., Shaikh, N., Wald, E., Kearney, D., Colborn, D., Lusky, M., Bhatnagear, S., Haralam, M., Zoffel, L., Jenkins, C., Pope, M., Balentine, T., &Barbadora., A., 2011) Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) has been linked to prone sleeping, sharing a bed and sleeping on a surface not indicated for sleeping (Allen, P. 2013). The Back to Sleep initiative began in 1994 by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development recommending supine sleeping for infants. The number of infants sleeping in this position has greatly increased with overall SIDS rates decreasing. Current research on SIDS revealed that nearly 70% of cases involved infants sleeping on surfaces not intended for infant sleeping (Allen, P., 2013). Education of parents regarding safe sleeping is the primary role of the pediatric nurse in prevention of SIDS (Allen, P., 2013).