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When developing a plan of care for a child diagnosed with anemia, which activity is important for the nurse to complete in order to determine how to minimize tissue oxygen needs?

a) Assessing the child's dietary iron intake.

b) Monitoring vital signs regularly.

c) Evaluating the child's response to iron supplements.

d) Collaborating with the dietitian to plan a balanced diet.

User Shelper
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Final answer:

Monitoring vital signs regularly is essential in an anemia care plan to determine how to minimize tissue oxygen needs by assessing blood oxygenation levels or 'percent sat.' Additionally, dietary adjustments and iron supplementation are important for long-term management and treatment of iron-deficiency anemia.

Step-by-step explanation:

When developing a plan of care for a child diagnosed with anemia, it's crucial to minimize tissue oxygen needs. The correct answer to the question is b) Monitoring vital signs regularly. Regularly monitoring vital signs, particularly oxygen saturation or 'percent sat,' is essential as it provides direct information on how well the blood is carrying oxygen to the tissues. This is important because anemia results from a diminished volume of red blood cells, which can lead to insufficient oxygen delivery.

In managing anemia, helping the child increase their dietary iron intake could be part of the therapeutic approach. Good sources of iron include red meats, fish, poultry, lentils, beans, and fortified cereals. These are beneficial to consider when collaborating with a dietitian to plan a balanced diet, which is also an important activity in the long term. However, for immediate tissue oxygen needs, monitoring vital signs like oxygen saturation is more directly relevant.

Furthermore, evaluating the child's response to iron supplements is part of an ongoing treatment strategy for iron-deficiency anemia, which can prevent and treat this condition by increasing the hemoglobin content of the blood.

User Roman Petrenko
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