Chapter 15: Nursing Care of the Child with an Infection

The nurse is assessing a child brought to the emergency department for cough, nasal discharge, and fever. During the assessment, the nurse notes raised papules with an erythematous base on the buccal mucosa and a temperature of 102.5ºF (39°C). What will the nurse do next?

"Place the child in a negative-pressure room."

The nursing is caring for a hospitalized child diagnosed with varicella-zoster virus. The child's parents ask how to prevent the child's siblings from contracting the virus. Which response by the nurse is best?

"We will place your child on contact and airborne precautions. It is best for the other children not to visit."

The nurse is caring for a 10-year-old child with a skin rash. The nurse should include which intervention to manage the associated pruritis?

Press the pruritic area.

The nurse is obtaining a throat culture from a child. The nurse would include which action(s) to obtain this specimen? Select all that apply.

Educate the child and parent about the procedure. Wash hands and don gloves. Swab the pharyngeal and tonsillar area. Use a tongue blade to depress the tongue.

The nurse is caring for a 5-year-old girl with scarlet fever. Which intervention will most likely be part of her care?

Teaching proper administration of penicillin V.

The nurse is caring for a 7-year-old child in droplet precautions due to the diagnosis of pertussis. While visiting the child, which actions by the parents require the nurse to intervene? Select all that apply.

The parents state, "We should postpone immunizing our 5-year-old since there has been contact with the infection." The parents state, "We have been limiting our child's fluids to help decrease the amount of coughing."

After teaching nursing students about childhood exanthems, the instructor determines that the teaching was successful when the students identify what as the primary cause?

Viruses

The nurse is concerned that the child is developing septic shock. Which finding(s) are consistent with this condition? Select all that apply.

White blood cell count is elevated. The child is pale and lethargic. The child's respiratory rate is elevated. The child's blood pressure is reduced.

The parent of a child with mumps calls the clinic to find out how long the child needs to stay home from school. The nurse would instruct the parent to allow the child to return to school at which time?

after 9 days from the onset of swelling

A 6-year-old child is being treated for a parasitic infection. When reviewing results from the child's white blood cell count, which finding would be anticipated?

increased eosinophil levels

A 15-year-old male visits their health care provider's office reporting fever, headache, malaise, and pain with chewing and along the jawline just in front of the ear lobe. After asking his parent to leave the room, the client then tells the nurse that he is also experiencing testicular pain and swelling. Which condition does the nurse suspect this client is most likely experiencing?

mumps

The nurse is attempting to control the infectious process while caring for a client. The nurse changes the client's wound dressing when the dressing becomes soiled. Which link of the chain of infection is the nurse interrupting with this intervention?

reservoir

The most common complication of varicella is:

secondary bacterial infections

The nurse is caring for a 10-year-old boy with diphtheria. What would the nurse institute as a tier 2 precaution?

use of a protective mask

The nurse is taking a health history for an 8-year-old boy who is hospitalized. Which is a risk factor for sepsis in a hospitalized child?

use of immunosuppression drugs

A 3-week-old infant is diagnosed with pertussis. Which antimicrobial agent would the nurse expect the physician to prescribe?

azithromycin

A child is diagnosed with early disseminated Lyme disease. The nurse informs the parents the child will most likely receive antibiotic therapy for which length of time?

14 to 28 days

A 6-month-old boy is brought to the doctor's office with a high fever. The physician diagnoses the child as having a viral infection of some kind and recommends acetaminophen to reduce the fever. After 3 days, the mother returns with the child. The fever is gone, but a rash of discrete, rose-pink macules approximately 2 to 3 mm and flat with the skin surface appears. Which condition should the nurse suspect?

Roseola

Which child will the nurse identify as being at greatest risk for developing a hospital-acquired infection (HAI)?

an 18-month-old child receiving chemotherapy over 5 days