Abstract

MARTINS DA SILVA, Viviane; VENICIOS DE OLIVEIRA LOPES, Marcos  and  LEITE DE ARAUJO, Thelma. Vital signs in children with congenital heart diseases. Rev Cubana Enfermer [online]. 2006, vol.22, n.2, pp. 0-0. ISSN 1561-2961.

In Brazil , it is estimated that from 20 to 30 thousand children carriers of congenital heart diseases are born every year. That's why, it was of interest to measure the vital signs of the Brazilian children with congenital heart diseases to confirm the modification of their values due to this affection. The universe of study was composed of children with a medical diagnosis of congenital heart disease seen in a hospital of Fortaleza-Ceará municipality, Brazil . The sample was made up of 45 children that fulfilled the inclusion criteria and that were admitted during the data collection period in 2005. Six diagnostic evaluations were made with 48-hour intervals among them during 15 days, with 270 observations in all. The sample was characterized according to sex, age, height, and birth weight. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were measured as well as heart and respiratory rate, pulse, and temperature. The results were expressed in measures of central tendency, dispersion, and percentiles. Hemodynamic alterations caused by congenital heart diseases gave rise to the elevation of blood pressure in 95.5 % of the children. A similar situation occurred with the respiratory and cardiac rates, but in a lower percentage. Body temperature rises only when it was associated with infections, and it was controlled by means of antipyretics. It was proved that in nursing care, the measurement of the vital signs is very important, since it allows an integral evaluation of the hemodynamic alterations that may affect the children with congenital heart diseases.

Keywords : Congenital heart diseases; vital signs; nursing..

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