Pediatric Nursing is Crucial for Managing Childhood Diseases

• Childhood diseases are among the most common causes of hospitalizations for infants, children, and adolescents.  
• Pediatric nurses play a crucial role in managing care ranging from appropriate treatment to comfort and emotional support. 
• Providing high-quality care helps ensure children with acute and chronic illnesses have the best possible outcomes and maintain their overall health and development. 

Childhood diseases are one of the most common causes of pediatric hospital admissions affecting infants, children, and adolescents. These conditions can range from mild, acute issues to debilitating chronic conditions.

Pediatric nursing plays a crucial role in managing the care for these diseases, ensuring the patient receives appropriate treatment, comfort, and emotional support. 

Importance of Pediatric Nurses

Nurses are essential in educating families and giving them hands-on instruction for administering medications, recognizing warning signs that require medical attention, and how to provide support for the child. Nurses must ensure collaboration with the interdisciplinary care team is occurring. Involving child-life specialists, physicians, respiratory therapists, nutritionists, and social workers ensures a well-rounded approach to the child’s care.  

For patients and families alike, having an acute (or chronic) illness can be very stressful. Nurses provide emotional and psychological support to assist the child in coping with pain, fear, or anxiety associated with hospital admission. The nurses also help the family manage the stressors of seeing their child in pain. Techniques such as distraction, medical play, and age-appropriate explanations can reduce stress and anxiety, promoting a sense of autonomy and well-being.  

What are Common Childhood Diseases? 

Respiratory infections such as asthma, pneumonia, and bronchiolitis, or a viral infection, are among the most common diseases in the pediatric population. Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is one of the most common viruses that causes bronchiolitis in the pediatric infant population and inflammation of the lungs. The inflammation will cause symptoms of fever, cough, shortness of breath, and signs of difficulty breathing, such as retractions, nasal flaring, and head bobbing.  

Asthma is a chronic health condition that narrows the airways and causes inflammation; once exacerbation occurs, the patient will have wheezing, breathlessness, and coughing.  

Gastrointestinal (GI) disorders are the runner-up for common pediatric hospitalizations. Common GI diseases include gastroenteritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and constipation. Acute gastroenteritis is a viral condition that causes diarrhea, vomiting, and severe dehydration. Constipation can be caused by dietary factors such as lack of water or fiber intake. Inflammatory bowel disease is a chronic inflammation of the intestinal tract and can be correlated with Chron’s disease or ulcerative colitis. 

Chronic health conditions cause frequent hospitalizations. Patients with congenital heart disease, cystic fibrosis, ulcerative colitis, and diabetes require ongoing medical management and care.  

Infectious diseases are also a common cause of hospitalizations. Many of these are preventable with the assistance of vaccinations. Such diseases are hand-foot-mouth, measles, mumps, and chickenpox. However, outbreaks are still occurring due to the recent push for parents to elect not to vaccinate. 

How Pediatric Nurses Support Treatment of Childhood Diseases 

Pediatric nurses assess and continuously monitor their patient’s condition. This includes obtaining vital signs, monitoring intake and output levels, monitoring weight and the growth chart, and evaluating respiratory function. Nurses must be aware of, and recognize early signs of, deterioration, such as an increased work of breathing or dehydration. Knowing proper medications and pediatric-specific dosing, along with critical side effects, is important in caring for the patient. 

Nurses also provide supportive care, such as supplemental oxygen, repositioning to open the airway more effectively, and maintaining hydration by pushing oral or intravenous fluids. Educating the family is essential and helps them better understand the nature of the disease, the treatment, and how to care for their child at home. 

The Bottom Line

Pediatric childhood diseases present a unique challenge that requires specialized nursing care. Nursing care is focused on the child’s needs and involves thorough assessment, careful administration of medications and treatments, education, and emotional support. Providing high-quality care helps ensure children with acute and chronic illnesses have the best possible outcomes and maintain their overall health and development. 

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