802 - Optimizing fluid intake of patients admitted to the pediatric inpatient rehabilitation unit

Friday, February 20, 2026

5:00 PM - 6:30 PM AST

Co-Author(s)

LG

Lisa Godbold, MD

Fellow Physician, PGY6
Nationwide Children's Hospital
Columbus, Ohio, United States

Presenting Author(s)

AH

Amy Hiller, DO

Assistant Professor
Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Columbus, Ohio, United States

Submitter(s)

LG

Lisa Godbold, MD

Nationwide Children's Hospital
Columbus, Ohio, United States

Objectives: Adequate hydration is not only necessary to optimize nutrient and oxygen delivery to muscles, the brain, and all organs; it is also important to maintain blood pressure and optimize health. We sought to educate patients on the importance of fluid intake during injury recovery, with the goal of increasing the total percentage of patients on our inpatient rehabilitation unit (IPR) who would meet their daily fluid goal. We incorporated simple interventions to encourage increased hydration.

Design: We obtained baseline fluid consumption from all patients on the IPR unit in September – October 2024, and calculated the total daily fluid goal for each patient, based on weight. We then recorded the total number of patients who consumed at least 80% of their fluid goal on a daily basis. Next, four different interventions were implemented to improve fluid intake. After these interventions were applied, we collected total daily fluid intake for each patient between January - February 2025, and calculated what percentage of children on the unit consumed at least 80% of their daily fluid goal.

Results: Based upon our P- chart analysis, at baseline prior to our interventions, about 20% of the children on the inpatient rehabilitation unit consumed at least 80% of their daily fluid goal. After the interventions were implemented, the average percentage of children who consumed at least 80% of the daily fluid goal increased to 40%.

Conclusions: Hanging laminated fluid charts in patient rooms, providing education to families on the importance of adequate hydration in injury recovery, optimizing nursing communication to document accurate fluid intake, and providing each patient with a water bottle are effective steps that can be taken to improve fluid intake in patients who are admitted in IPR. Simple system- level changes can be made to improve overall health and quality of care.