Four patients arrive at the emergency department at the same time. Which patient will the nurse see ...

ANS: A
The infant should be seen first. An infant's proportion of total body water (70 to 80 total body weight) is greater than that of children or adults. Infants and young children have greater water needs and immature kidneys. They are at greater risk for extracellular volume deficit and hypernatremia because body water loss is proportionately greater per kilogram of weight. A teenager with excessive edema from a sprained ankle can wait. A middle-aged adult moaning in pain can wait as can an older adult with a blood pressure of 112/60.