Nursing the Nurse

-Third-spacing is the accumulation and sequestration of
trapped extracellular fluid in an actual or potential body
space as a result of disease or injury.

-The trapped fluid represents a volume loss and is
unavailable for normal physiological processes.

-Fluid may be trapped in body spaces such as the
pericardial, pleural, peritoneal, or joint cavities, the
bowel, or the abdomen, or within soft tissues after
trauma or burns.


-Assessing the intravascular fluid loss caused by
third-spacing is difficult. The loss may not be reflected
in weight changes or intake and output records and may
not become apparent until after organ malfunction occurs.