Evaluation of Intravenous Fluids in Acute Renal Colic

Statement of Problem Acute renal colic is a common chief complaint encountered in the emergency department. The traditional approach for the management of acute renal colic due to nephrolithiasis is aggressive intravenous fluid hydration, which is largely practiced in the emergency department despite limited research (Tarplin et al., 2015). This grant proposal seeks to investigate the use of intravenous fluid bolus in patients with acute renal colic and identify the effect on patients’ perceived pain level. Sources of Data Data will be collected from a retrospective chart review of participants between 21-55 years old, who presented to Emergency Department (ED) at Hemet Valley Medical Center with acute renal colic between January 01, 2014 and December 31, 2016. Patients will be identified by the specific code for the diagnosis or problem list of nephrolithiasis in the electronic medical record. Computed Tomography (CT) scan results will be used to confirm the diagnosis of nephrolithiasis and the stone size. Patients’ age, gender, kidney stone size, pain medication received (Ketorolac/Toradol), and the use (or lack of) high volume intravenous (IV) fluids will be assessed and obtained via the medication administration orders in the electronic medical record system. The numerical rating scale for pain will be used to measure the pre and post pain intensity in this study.