Clinical Case Of A Child With Waterhouse-Friderichsen Syndrome: Nursing Care

Abstract

Introduction: Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome is the most severe clinical manifestation of meningococcal infection. It occurs with irreversible adrenal insufficiency, haemodynamic failure due to thromboembolism of the conductive arteries of the adrenal glands. The syndrome bears the names of the English physician Rupert Waterhouse and the Danish pediatrician Carl Friderichsen, who described it for the first time.

Aim: To present a clinical case of a child with Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome; to develop a nursing plan for cases with the syndrome.

Materials and Methods: Presentation of the clinical case of a 10-month-old child who suddenly develops fever, vomiting, and hemorrhagic rash. At hospitalization in the Infectious Disease clinic the child is in an extremely severe general condition with hemodynamic failure and hemorrhagic shock. To describe the case we used: documentary method - literary reference; active monitoring of the child; interview with the physicians and nurses working in the respective wards at Dr. Ivan Seliminski hospital - Sliven.

Discussion: Although rare, Waterhouse-Friderichsen's syndrome is a very severe manifestation of sepsis, which in most cases leads to a fatal outcome. The nursing plan includes nurse diagnosis, scheduling nursing interventions to alleviate the general condition and stabilize the vital functions of the patient.