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It is essential for nursing professionals with a pediatric nurse certification to understand health conditions that are more prominent in children. One such condition is respiratory failure. According to MedScape.com, acute respiratory failure occurs more frequently among infants and children than in adults due to differences in body development. And respiratory failure frequently leads to cardiac arrest in children, which is one of the top 10 causes of pediatric mortality according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

Pediatric Nursing: New Jersey to California and Everywhere in Between

Regardless of your geographic location, if you are considering pursuing a pediatric nurse certification, here are some facts you need to know about pediatric respiratory failure.

Pediatric Nurse Education: What is Respiratory Failure? 

Respiratory failure occurs when the rate of oxygen exchange between the atmosphere and blood is too unstable to match the body’s metabolic demands. The condition is officially diagnosed when a person develops hypoxemia (decreased partial pressure of oxygen in the blood less than 60 mmHg) and/or hypercarbia (too much carbon dioxide in the blood).

Common Causes 

Pediatric respiratory failure is generally the result of another medical condition. The most common causes of respiratory failure include:

Acquired lesions – Respiratory failure can result from conditions such as infections, traumatic causes (e.g. postextubation croup and thermal burns) and hypertrophic tonsils.

Congenital lesions – Patients with a subglottic web or cyst, vascular ring or craniofacial anomalies are at risk for respiratory failure.

Intrathoracic airway and lung conditions – Asthma, aspiration, bronchiolitis, near drowning and pneumonia are among the top airway and lung conditions that can lead to pediatric respiratory failure.

Respiratory pump – Conditions related to the respiratory pump are also associated with respiratory failure:

• Chest wall (diaphragm eventration, diaphragmatic hernia, flail chest and kyphoscoliosis)
• Respiratory muscles (duchenne muscular dystrophy, guillain-barré syndrome, infant botulism, myasthenia gravis, spinal cord trauma and SMA)
• Central control (CNS infection, drug overdose, sleep apnea, stroke and traumatic brain injury)

Pediatric Nurse Certifications at Health Ed Solutions

Health Ed Solutions is the leading online provider for pediatric advanced life support (PALS) certification and PALS recertification courses. These courses are aimed toward healthcare professionals, especially those from across the U.S. who are involved with pediatric nursing – New Jersey, New York, California or anywhere else.

Learn more about PALS guidelines for pediatric nurse certification.

Source: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/908172-overview