Hi, I'm Cathy with Level Up RN. In this video, I will be discussing hypertrophic pyloric stenosis. And at the end of the video, I'm going to give you guys a little quiz to test your knowledge of some of the key points I'll be covering, so definitely stay tuned for that. And if you have our Level Up RN pediatric nursing flashcards, go ahead and pull out your flashcard on pyloric stenosis and follow along with me and pay close attention to the bold red text on this card because those represent the most testable facts that you are likely to see show up on a nursing school exam.
With hypertrophic pyloric stenosis, we have thickening of the pyloric sphincter, which is located between the stomach and small intestine, and this blocks the movement of food from the stomach into the duodenum. And since food can't get through this way, it comes out the other way, and we end up with projectile vomiting, which is a hallmark symptom of this disorder. Other signs and symptoms include a palpable olive-shaped mass in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen as well as visible peristaltic waves. And because the child is vomiting so much, signs and symptoms of dehydration are often present, for example, hypotension, decreased tears, and sunken fontanelles. And then in terms of labs, excessive vomiting can lead to hypokalemia as well as metabolic alkalosis. Hypertrophic pyloric stenosis is diagnosed using an ultrasound, and treatment includes the administration of IV fluids and electrolytes and surgery to enlarge the opening at the pylorus, which is called a pyloromyotomy.
All right. It's quiz time, and I've got three questions for you.
Question number one. A child with pyloric stenosis may have a palpable olive-shaped mass in which quadrant of the abdomen?
The answer is the right upper quadrant.
Question number two. What acid-base imbalance may be caused by pyloric stenosis?
The answer is metabolic alkalosis.
Question number three. What surgery is used to treat hypertrophic pyloric stenosis?
The answer is a pyloromyotomy.
All right. Hope you did great with that quiz, and I hope you found this video to be helpful. Take care, and good luck with studying.
[BLOOPERS]
Which is called a pyloromodded-- murderer. I hate this word so much. Pyloromyotomy. I guess we'll be trying this again.
