What is the expected physiological response in a child with dehydration?

In a child experiencing dehydration, an increased respiration rate is a physiological response that helps to maintain oxygen levels in the body. Dehydration leads to a reduced volume of blood, which results in a lower blood pressure and a possible decrease in peripheral circulation. In response, the body attempts to compensate for the reduced oxygen delivery to tissues by increasing the rate of breathing.

This hyperventilation is the body's way of ensuring that despite the less effective circulation, sufficient oxygen can still be exchanged in the lungs. The increased respiratory rate can also be attributed to metabolic processes that become more pronounced in states of dehydration. Essentially, the body is striving to maintain homeostasis under stressful conditions, such as dehydration, and the respiratory changes are part of that compensatory mechanism.

Other choices, such as reduced heart rate, increased blood pressure, and normal temperature, do not align with the physiological responses typically seen in dehydration. In fact, dehydration usually leads to an increased heart rate and potentially lower blood pressure due to decreased blood volume, while body temperature might also fluctuate depending on the severity of the dehydration and associated mechanisms like fever or hypothermia.