Question

A 12-year-old is being treated in the urgent care clinic. The mother reports that the child came home from school yesterday with a high fever, vomiting and multiple episodes of watery diarrhea. The healthcare provider obtains a rhythm strip and notes the following waveform. The provider interprets this as which type of arrhythmia?

Select the correct answer to this question.
A. Sinus bradycardia
B. Atrial flutter
C. Sinus tachycardia
D. Ventricular tachycardia

Answer 1

The type of arrhythmia can only be determined by examining the actual ECG waveform, which is not provided. The described symptoms could suggest sinus tachycardia, especially in the presence of a fever in a child, but an examination of the ECG is essential for an accurate diagnosis.

Step-by-step explanation:

The healthcare provider interpreting a rhythm strip for a 12-year-old child with symptoms of high fever, vomiting, and watery diarrhea may encounter several types of arrhythmias. Without the actual waveform, we cannot provide a specific type of arrhythmia, but we can define the possible options based on the description. Sinus bradycardia is characterized by a heart rate that is too slow - below 60 beats per minute (bpm). Atrial flutter is a type of supraventricular tachycardia where there are rapid, but regular, contractions of the atria. Sinus tachycardia is a normal increase in heart rate that exceeds 100 bpm in adults and may be due to fever or stress, but children have normally higher rates and this isn't always considered tachycardia. Finally, ventricular tachycardia is a rapid heart rate that originates from abnormal electrical signals in the ventricles and is a serious condition. Given the child's symptoms, it's possible they may present with sinus tachycardia, particularly if they have a fever, but ultimately an electrocardiogram (ECG) would need to be consulted to make an accurate diagnosis.