The nurse is assessing the vital signs of a 3-year-old patient who appears to have an irregular respiratory pattern. How should the nurse assess this child's respirations?

A) Respirations should be counted for 1 full minute if the nurse suspects an abnormality.
B) Child's pulse and respirations should be simultaneously checked for 30 seconds and then multiplied by 2.
C) Child's respirations should be checked for a minimum of 5 minutes to identify any variations in his or her respiratory pattern.
D) Patient's respirations should be counted for 15 seconds and then multiplied by 4 to obtain the number of respirations per minute.

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Olivia Pantale · Accepted Answer

Final Answer : A, Explanation :  Respirations are counted for 1 full minute if an abnormality is suspected. The other responses are not correct actions. The pulse and respirations should not be counted at the same time. Instead, the nurse should maintain the position as if taking the radial pulse, but unobtrusively count the respirations. Respirations should be counted for 30 seconds if no abnormality, not 5 minutes or 15 seconds. If an abnormality is suspected, the nurse should count respirations for 1 full minute.

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