Pediatric Emergency Nursing PICO Questions Related

Review Pediatric Emergency Nursing PICO Questions related questions and content

Tara is an 11-year-old girl diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM). She asks her attending nurse why she can't take a pill rather than shots like her grandmother does. Which of the following would be the nurse's best reply?

  • A. "If your blood glucose levels are controlled, you can switch to using pills."
  • B. "The pills correct fat and protein metabolism, not carbohydrate metabolism."
  • C. "Your body does not make insulin, so the insulin injections help to replace it."
  • D. "The pills work on the adult pancreas, you can switch when you are 18."
Correct Answer: C

Rationale: The nurse's best reply would be option C, "Your body does not make insulin, so the insulin injections help to replace it." This response directly addresses Tara's question about why she needs insulin injections instead of pills. In type 1 diabetes mellitus, the body's immune system mistakenly attacks the beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. As a result, individuals with type 1 DM do not produce insulin, so they require insulin injections to replace the missing hormone. Unlike type 2 diabetes where oral medications can be used to manage the condition, individuals with type 1 diabetes rely on insulin injections to regulate their blood glucose levels.