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Principles of Fluid Therapy (view source)
Revision as of 23:17, 11 April 2009
, 23:17, 11 April 2009no edit summary
''Replacements'' are calculated based on the level of dehydration. Dehydration is based upon clinical assessment of each individual patient. Most commonly, skin tent is used for assessment. To calculate the amount required for replacement within a 24 hour period, the percentage dehydration is used in the following calculation.
''Replacements'' are calculated based on the level of dehydration. Dehydration is based upon clinical assessment of each individual patient. Most commonly, skin tent is used for assessment. To calculate the amount required for replacement within a 24 hour period, the percentage dehydration is used in the following calculation.
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''Ongoing losses'' are calculated based on a predicted fluid amount lost by a patient within a 24 hour period. Common losses include vomitting and diarrhoea. It is often helpful here if the owners are able to give a detailed history as this makes it easier to predict the pattern of losses. To calculate the fluid requirement, the following calculation is used.
''Ongoing losses'' are calculated based on a predicted fluid amount lost by a patient within a 24 hour period. Common losses include vomitting and diarrhoea. It is often helpful here if the owners are able to give a detailed history as this makes it easier to predict the pattern of losses. In some patients there may be no ongoing losses and so this step can be skipped. To calculate the fluid requirement, the following calculation is used.
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These calculations are then added together to allow for the total fluid requirement in a 24 hour period. It is important to assess these requirements on a daily basis as losses may be increased/reduceed for example.
Once the fluid requirement is calculated, it is often necessary to calculate further the requirements per hour if using a drip pump, or mls per second if fluids are delivered through a giving set. This is done as follows: -
Requirement per hour = Requirement per day /60
Requirement per minute = Requirement per hour/60
Requirement per second = Requirement per minute /60
Drops per second = Requirement per second x Giving Set Factor