Running head: TONSILLITIS INTERVENTIONS

TonsillitisPriorityIntervention
ShanteBrown
823282009
JanetJeffery
NURS209
November18,2015
HumberCollege

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Tonsillitisisacommonconditionthatisdevelopedwithinchildrenbetweenthe
agesofthreetoseven.Tonsillitisoccurswhenthetonsilsbecomeinfected,dueto
restrictingbacteriaandvirusesthatbecomeattachedtotheairway.Childrenusually
experiencethroatpain,headaches,earache,difficultyswallowing/breathing,andfever
whendiagnosedwithtonsillitis.Whichprovesthattheinterventionthatshouldbeapplied
whenapatienthastonsillitis,aretheirvitalsigns.Vitalsignsarethefarmostimportant
interventionbecauseitcanprovidehealthcareproviderswiththepatientsbaselinevitals
thatcanbecomparedtofor,whenapatienthasundergonesurgeryortherapy.Thevital
signsalsoprovideinformationaboutthewellbeingofthepatientandhowwellthe
healingprocessis.AccordingtothearticleHowWellDoVitalSignsIdentifyChildren
withSeriousInfectionsinPediatricEmergencyCaretheauthorstatesthatA
combinationofvitalsignscanbeusedtodifferentiatechildrenwithseriousinfections
fromthosewithlessseriousinfectionsinapediatricassessmentunitandhascomparable
sensitivitytomorecomplicatedtriagesystems(Thompson,2009).Concludingthat
withouthealthcareprovidersdoingvitalsignsfortheirpatients,hemorrhage,fever,and,
tachycardiawouldnotbeabletobedetectedfromtheirpatient.Thiscancausethepatient
tobeatriskforhyperthermia,lowoxygenlevelsandhemorrhaging.
Toensurethatthispatientisnotatriskfordeath,threecollaborativecare
providersthatcanassistthispatientarearespiratorytherapist,apharmacistanda
surgeon.Arespiratorytherapistisanimportantcareproviderastheyspecializein
cardiology,pulmonology,andairwaymanagement.Thisphysicianisresponsiblefor

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patientsthathavedisordersoftheheart,orthelungs.Inapediatricpatientwithtonsillitis,
arespiratorytherapistisimportant,becausetonsillitispatientcouldhavedifficulty
breathing,andtherapyforairwaymanagement.Vitalsignsplayamajorrolefor
respiratorytherapistasitprovidestherespiratoryrateofthepatient,theiroxygen
saturationandtheirpulse.Theseindictorshelptherespiratorytherapistasitprovides
themwithanindicatorofhowtheycanprovidecareforthepatient.Whetherthepatient
hasalowrespiratoryrateoralowoxygensaturationpercent,therespiratorytherapist
willprovideinformationtothepatient,andhelpthepatienttostabilizethosevitals.
Asurgeonisanimportanthealthcareproviderforapatientwithtonsillitisdueto
thefactthatasurgeonisresponsibleforperformingsurgicalproceduresonpatients.A
patientwithtonsillitiswouldneedasurgeontoperformatonsillectomyoncethetonsils
swellandgivethepatientasorethroatorhavedifficultybreathing.Someoftheother
sideeffectsthatwillmakethesurgeonoperateonapatientwithtonsillitisisifthepatient
hasafever,dysphagia,andswollenglandsaroundtheneck.Ifthesesymptomsarenot
abletodisappearwithantibiotictherapy,thesurgeonmaygiveanorderforthepatientto
getatonsillectomy.Atonsillectomyisasurgicalprocedurethatremovesthetonsilgland.
Asurgeonremovesthesetonsilsbyeitherthecoldknifeprocessorcauterization
procedure.Thetextbook"MaternalChildCareNursinginCanada"states:Absolute
indicationsforatonsillectomyaremalignancy,recurrentperitonsillarabscess,andairway
obstruction(Perry,2010,p.1323).Statingthattonsillectomywilloccurifthepatienthas
troublebreathing,tonsilscancerorabacterialinfectionthatcreatespusaroundthe
tonsils.Furthermore,vitalsignsareimportantforasurgeonbecauseitprovidesabaseline

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inwhich,indicatesifthepatientisatharmfrompostopsurgery.
Apharmacistalsoplaysasubstantialroleforapatientwithtonsillitis,asthe
pharmacistisresponsiblefordrugtherapyforthepatient.Apersonwithtonsillitismay
havetogounderantibiotictherapyinordertokillthebacteriaandinfectionthatis
causingthetonsilstoswell.Ifthepatientisexperiencinganypainorfever,the
pharmacistisresponsibleforpreparingthismedicationforthispatient.Thepharmacist
musttakeintoconsiderationthatthemedicationthattheyprovideforthepatientsdoes
notcontainanysourceofallergenandistherightformofdrugthatissuitableforthe
patient,basedontheirphysicalstatus.Anyofthesefactorsofmedicationcanalterthe
patientsvitalssigns,whichiswhyitisimportantthatthepharmacistunderstandsthe
patientsdiagnosesandcodiagnosesbeforepreparingthemedicationforthepatient.
Apostoppatientwithtonsillitisisaservecasethatmustbemonitoredfrequently.
Somecommunityresourcesthatareimportantfortheirpatientarefirstly,hospitals.Once
thepatientgetsdischargedfromthehospitaltheclientsmustmonitorthemselvesforany
postophemorrhage.Ashemorrhagemayoccurupto10daysaftersurgeryasaresultof
tissuesloughingfromthehealingprocess.Anysignofbleedingwarrantsimmediate
medicalattention(Perry,2010,p.1324).Anothercommunityresourceforthepatientis
afollowupdoctorappointment.Adoctorsappointmentisaveryimportantconceptfor
thispediatricclientasithelpsindicatetheoverallhealthoftheclient.Doctorswillbe
responsibletoensurethattheclientsvitalsignsarenotasfarfromtheirbaselines,and
thefollowupappointmentwillstateifthepatientishealingfromthesurgery.Lastly,
PartnersinCommunitynursingisacommunitywheretheywillassistinyourPost

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operativerecoveryafterdischargefromthehospitalbycreatingatreatmentplanwith
yourinformedconsent(N.D,2011)thisprovidespatientswiththepostoperative
educationthatisneededwithrecovery.
Inconclusion,tonsillitisisverycommonwithchildrenandthisconditionshouldbetaken
intoconsideration.Plentyofchildrensufferfromdysphagia,difficultybreathing,high
feversandpainbecauseofthecondition,andwithoutthehealthcareprovidersmonitoring
thepatientsvitalsignstoindicateifthepatienthasanupcomingfever,hemorrhaging,or
isnotgettingenoughoxygen,thehealthcareproviderswouldnotbeabletointervenefor
thepatientfurtherintheircaretopreventtheirconditionfromworsening.Therefore,
monitoringapatient'svitalsignsisamajoraspectoftonsillitisandevennursingbecause
ithelpsindicateupcomingproblemsthatcanbequicklyavoidedwithfurther
interventions.

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Reference
PartnersinCommunityNursing(n.d.).Retrieved2011,fromhttp://www.picn.ca
Perry,S.,&Hockenberry,M.(2010).Tonsillitis.InMaternalchildnursingcarein
Canada(1sted.).Toronto,Ontario:Mosby.
Thompson,M.,Coad,N.,&Harnden,A.(2009,July15).
Howwelldovitalsignsidentifychildrenwithseriousinfectionsinpaediatric
emergencycare?Retrievedfromhttp://adc.bmj.com/content/94/11/888.short
RespiratoryTherapist.(n.d.).Retrieved2015,from
http://www.csrt.com/respiratorytherapist/