Enhancing Nursing Care for Children with Acute Gastroenteritis: Integrating Pediatric Early Warning Scores with the Situation-Background- Assessment-Recommendation System.

Qin Tang; Xiaorong Xie; Dongjin Li

Background • Acute gastroenteritis is a frequently encountered diarrheal illness in children, often selflimiting but occasionally linked to substantial mortality and morbidity, demanding effective approaches for assessment and intervention. While the utilization of the Pediatric Early Warning Score (PEWS) and the Situation- Background-Assessment-Recommendation system (SBAR) in pediatric patient management is recognized as effective, research in this area remains limited. Objective • Our study aimed to investigate the potential impact of PEWS and SBAR systems on the outcomes of pediatric patients with acute gastroenteritis. Methods • We conducted a randomized controlled trial at our hospital, enrolling 124 children aged 3 to 12 years diagnosed with acute gastroenteritis. These participants were randomly assigned to either a control group (62 cases) or an intervention group (62 cases). Different outcomes were assessed, including the frequency and duration of diarrhea and vomiting, the Modified Vesikari Scale (MVS), the Clinical Dehydration Scale (CDS), and follow-up physician visits. We utilized a two-group independent sample t test to compare outcomes between the two groups. Results • Our study resulted in statistically significant findings favoring the intervention group regarding the frequency and duration of diarrhea and vomiting, the MVS, the CDS, and the need for repeat healthcare visits. Conclusions • The integration of PEWS with SBAR appears to offer improved outcomes for children afflicted with acute gastroenteritis.

GASTROENTERITIS in children; PEDIATRIC gastroenterology; DIARRHEA in children; CHILD mortality; JUVENILE diseases

Alternative Therapies in Health & Medicine, 2024, Vol 30, Issue 1, p386

1078-6791

Academic Journal