what is the reason why nurses have to check the voiding of a patient in a hospital?

Question

at the very end of a duty of a nurse.. he/she checks for the volume of the urine the patient excreted by the patient... the nurse also checks for the volume of water that the patient drank on that hour of shift of the nurse... why?? whats the reason???

Answer 1

Its to ensure that the patient is not retaining water. This is especially true in the patient with CHF. The intake (amount a person takes in) and the output (amount a person eliminates) should both be about equal. If the intake is greater than the output, it could signal renal failure, renal insufficiency, kidney blockage, etc. If the output is greater than the intake, dehydration could be an issue. Essentially you want a balance between the two to maintain a normal homeostasis within the body.

Answer 2

If a patient has chronic cardiac failure it means that part of the heart is not pumping as it should therefore overloading the heart with fluid volume. The best treatment for this is diuretics medication. To ensure that the medication is working we do fluid balance chart and document the intake (which includes oral, iv, and subcutaneous) and output (this includes urine, feaces, vomiting any blood loss) and there should be a deficit in the balance. Another method that we use is to weigh the patient every morning and note the fluid loss of the patient.

Measuring the output (urine) may also be because the kidneys are not working.

Another reason for measuring urine output is that a patient with a stroke (CVA or TIA) can sometimes go into urinary retention in that the brain dosn't register that the bladder needs to empty.

There are other reason that we have for this procedure i hope the above are enough for you
Hope this helps

Answer 3

If a patient is drinking large volumes of water but only urinating small amounts, then this is an indication of kidney problems. It is very important to check what are termed "ins and outs" especially if a patient is on an IV. The output volume should match the input volume.

Answer 4

a nurse will do this for many reasons:checking that the patients kidneys are putting out the right volume (atleast 30cc per hour=an ounce). the input is also calculated to see that the patient is not retaining fluids somewhere else in the body-the blood systerm the lungs etc. a good nurse does this for any patient who is on an iv to make sure the patient is not overloaded with fluids.;)michele

Answer 5

They don't do it to everyone, but the reason they check is to make sure they are drinking and another reason is to make sure they are passing out just as much as they are taking in. If they are holding their urine it could be a kidney problem.

Answer 6

because fluid balance in the body is key to health, if you don't drink enough or void enough, it is indicative of a more serious problem, and nurses are responsible for monitoring this fluid balance.