How to measure intake and output
Other platforms explain it with text and video. In Making Synapses you practice it on the patient.
Intake and output show if a patient is gaining or losing fluid. Accuracy depends on everyone recording everything.
Step by step
Explain to the patient and family
Ask them to save urine and tell you what they drink. [1]
Intake
Oral fluids, IV fluids, tube feeds, flushes, IV medicines, blood products. [1]
Output
Urine, vomit, drains, stool if liquid, gastric suction. [1]
Measure
Use graduated containers at eye level, in mL. [1]
Totals
Add up per shift and per 24 hours; compare intake with output. [1]
Report
Urine under about 0.5 mL/kg/h in adults, or a big imbalance, is reported. [1]
Common errors
- Forgetting IV flushes.
- Estimating instead of measuring.
- Not reporting low urine output.
Practice it in Making Synapses
In Making Synapses you do this on the patient, not on paper: every step goes on the checklist with a score, and in Teach mode Blocky tells you what comes next.
Making Synapses cases that train this skill
- Child with diarrhea and dehydration
- Anorexia nervosa with dehydration
- Dehydration with Alzheimer and delirium
- Neuroleptic malignant syndrome
- Urinary tract infection with delirium
- Burns of both legs
24 Making Synapses cases train this skill: open the case library
Sources
- Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) (CC BY 4.0)
- OpenStax, Clinical Nursing Skills (reference)
Steps adapted from Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Facts and steps also follow OpenStax, Clinical Nursing Skills (reference). Making Synapses is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.