Pneumonia and Pediatric Care Report 2022

Running Head: PNEUMONIA AND PEDIATRIC CARE
PNEUMONIA AND PEDIATRIC CARE
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Authors Note

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Executive Summary:
The report aims to provide a brief knowledge about the disease pneumonia, its causes,
symptoms, diagnosis, etiology and the interventions required to avoid it. The report focuses on a
child who got admitted in the hospital for developing pneumonia due to contracting measles. The
report discusses the effects of hospitalization on the health of the child as well as to the family
members. The nursing interventions applied on the child as well as the use of health resources
have been discussed briefly. The report concludes with the simple methods to be adopted for
living a healthy life without getting acquainted with any type of disease.

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Introduction:
The report aims to provide a brief discussion on the pediatric care of a child, Mei who was 18
months old. Mei had a runny nose and fever and developed rash on her face which became very
miserable and eventually the rash spread on her whole body. She has been diagnosed with
pneumonia secondary to measles infection and admitted in a hospital in the pediatric intensive
care unit. The nursing interventions implemented on her and its effects on her along with the
family members are discussed. The report aims to develop an idea of the causes, symptoms and
diagnosis of pneumonia in a child.
Discussion:
Pneumonia:
It is a condition where the inflammation of the lungs occur and the alveoli are affected. The
symptoms of pneumonia are dry cough, chest pain, fever and breathing troubles. Mainly bacteria
or viruses are responsible for causing pneumonia (Jain et. al., 2015). Blood tests and sputum
culture helps in confirming the disease. Many vaccines and self-health care practices can help to
prevent pneumonia (Ngari et. al., 2017). Since Mei was a child, her immune system was weak
enough which lead to the invasion of bacteria and virus which caused pneumonia. She had
received her first dose of vaccine for measles. It was not sufficient to wipe out the bacteria from
her respiratory system. She was yet to receive her second dose.
Etiology:
Pneumonia is primarily caused by infections of bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. Few strains
are responsible for the majority of the cases. Mixed infections also occur when both bacteria and
virus infects the alveoli (Du Toit, 2019). There are other factors which cause pneumonia. Mei got

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infected with pneumonia due to immunodeficiency. Maximum cases of pneumonia in children
are caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae. Children younger than 5 years of age are
more likely to suffer from measles. Ear infection is a common complication of measles which
leads to infection by Streptococcus species leading to development of pneumonia (Le Thanh Hai
et. al., 2016).
Pathophysiology:
Bacteria evades through the primary defense mechanisms and then spreads to the lung
parenchyma. They inhibit the action of macrophages on them and produce fibrin rich exudate
that fills the alveolar sacs. The sacs as a result stick together filled with pus hindering air
passage. This inflammation results in neutrophil proliferation (Mizgerd, 2017). This leads to lung
tissue damage, leading to fibrosis and pulmonary edema. This results in vital organs becoming
deprived of oxygen and disturbance in normal physiology.
Diagnosis:
The disease is diagnosed after visualizing certain signs and symptoms. A further confirmation of
the disease occurs after the chest x-ray. Physical symptoms in children include cough and
difficulty in breathing, indrawing of the chest and decreased level of consciousness
(Urbankowska et. al., 2015). In extreme cases of hospitalization which Mei faced, sputum culture
and certain blood tests can be carried out which includes complete blood count, serum
electrolytes. Pleural fluid culture, bronchoscopy, chest Computed Tomography (CT) scan, pulse
oximetry are some of the methods which can be used to confirm the diagnosis of pneumonia in
Mei (Schlaberg et. al., 2017).

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Treatment:
Treatment in children includes antibiotics for bacterial pneumonia. There is no treatment present
for viral pneumonia. Pneumonia with measles can be treated with antiviral medicines (Zhou et.
al., 2018). The treatments include plenty of rest, intake of more fluids, oxygen therapy,
intravenous antibiotic injection or oral intake of antibiotics. Mei should undergo the treatment of
frequent suction of her nose and mouth to get rid of the thick mucus which develops inside her
respiratory tract. Certain breathing treatments and therapies can be applied on Mei to develop her
critical situation. (Postma et. al., 2015). Cough medicines should not be administered without
consulting a doctor.
Effects of hospitalization on child:
Admission in a hospital can have negative psychological effects on a child’s health. The child
gets scared, uncomfortable and shy as there are new people surrounding her (Durbin et. al.,
2017). They may suffer from emotional disturbance. The parting of the child during admission
from their parents can make the child emotionally upset. Mei is 18 months old and her
hospitalization can provoke anxiety in her mind and even lead to traumatic experience. Hospital
is like a foreign country to a child and they cannot adapt to the customs and schedules of the
hospital. They are vulnerable to stress as they are dependent on others for their everyday
functioning and well being and lacks the ability to speak or express themselves. When children
become ill, they require the support from their family which the hospital is not able to provide.
Mei’s mother was not able to reside by her daughter and provide support as she herself was
admitted to hospital for labor issue. Children feel lonely and scared in the hospital environment
as they are not present in their usual home and feels unsafe and unsecured. This stress and
uncomfortableness can build a severe traumatic experience which can have an adverse effect on

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the mental health of the child. Mei can also develop fear on procedures which involves needles
and injections or blood tests or transfusions which can evoke a distressful reaction in the mind of
the child (Haerskjold et. al., 2016). Negative psychological consequences can also develop like
nightmares, sleeplessness, aggressiveness and many more.
Effects of hospitalization on family:
The relationship between the parent and the child decreases after hospitalization. It takes time for
the parents to believe that their child is ill and hospitalized and is away from them (Sottile et. al.,
2016). Some of the factors which will make the parents angry are illness guilt, fear, anxiety,
frustration and depression. Stress build up among the family members and the communication
pattern gets disrupted. Mei had developed measles which led to the prevalence of pneumonia.
Such type of health implication can lead to severe distress among the family members. Mei’s
critical condition can even lead her to death which the family feared. Other concerns of the
hospitalized child was of the equipment used for the treatment. The parents may also develop a
fear of infection development in their child from contaminated needles and syringes usage. The
child’s appearance and behavior was enough to develop stress among the parents (Davidson &
Netzer, 2017). Child hospitalization has maximum effects on mothers. Mei was hospitalized
along with her mother. Her mother felt more distressed as she was not able to be present beside
her child when she needs her the most.
Importance of partnership care:
The partnership care in a hospital brings together different personalities and get benefitted from
the hospital resources and care. Partnership care is important as it enhances the efficiency and
quality of the service being provided (Valentijn et. al., 2015). Partnership brings about similar
beliefs and goals and a mutual understanding, respect and trust develops between the partners.

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Partnership care is a strategy which aims to improve patient experience and outcomes. It
involves participation between the patient and the healthcare professionals in decision making
and planning regarding their own health. It also helps to develop health care service planning,
policy and evaluation. Patients are informed, supported and their consent is taken for a
meaningful treatment. Partnerships results in a more responsive and opened health system. It
focuses to achieve high quality and improved health. Partnerships bring about decreased rates of
health care acquired infections or occupational diseases. It leads to improved delivery of health
care services.
Partnership care between the patient, family and nurse:
The health care system reforms are concentrating towards a patient centered model of care.
There is a good partnership between the nurse and the family and the patient to implement the
best service to the patient so that recovery is faster (Delaney, 2018). Partnership brings about
more care and attention towards the patient and provide available resources to the patient.
Partnership between the patient, family and nurses can improve the clinical outcomes of the
patient (Ryan et al., 2019). The nurse gets acknowledged about the history of the patient which
helps her to diagnose the patient in a similar pattern. Partnership between the patient and the
family leads to greater adherence to care plans, improved patient satisfaction and even low
expenditure (Urden et al., 2017). This also helps in implementation of nursing interventions on
the patient (Tobiano et. al., 2015). Brief history from parents of how Mei contracted the disease
would help the nurse to implement the patient centered care intervention. Mei had attended a
cultural community program which was held at the local park for the celebration of Chinese New
Year. This visit to the local park might be the cause for Mei getting infected with measles
followed by pneumonia.

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Nursing interventions for pediatric patient:
A nurse needs to administer the drugs in a chronological order as ordered by the physician. It is
the duty of the nurse to monitor the patient in regular intervals so that fever or any kind of side
effects of the disease does not relapses (Gautheir et. al., 2015). A nurse should be able to assist
the patient to bring out the cough or fluid from the chest or by gentle massage on the chest or
back. Mei is a small child of 18 months old diagnosed with pneumonia (McInerny et al., 2016).
It would be difficult for her to cough and bring out the fluid or mucous from her upper
respiratory tract. The nurses should apply suction therapies to bring out the accumulated fluid or
mucous from her nose and mouth (Cherry et al., 2018). Breathing treatments and timely
application of medications for the child can also help to cope up with the symptoms faster
(Kassam-Adams et. al., 2015). Pneumonia affected patients have poor appetite and gets tired
easily so nurses should promote nutrition rich diet for the patients.
Availability of health services and community resources:
There are many resources available for a patient to administer. The hospital management are
ready and eager to help the patient in all possible ways for faster recovery (Gautheir et. al.,
2015). Judicious uses of the resources are recommended so that all the patients can avail in
appropriate quantity and in appropriate time.
Conclusion:
Thus it can be conclude that little self-health care and self-consciousness with maintenance of
hygiene can improve the quality of living and help to deviate from developing diseases. Proper
hand washing or regular bathing, keeping oneself clean and fresh can help an individual to live a

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healthy life. Mei’s parents need to be more careful in dealing with hygiene related aspects with
their daughter.

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