A 3-year-old child with mild iron deficiency anemia is seen by a nurse in the clinic. In addition to weakness and fatigue, what should the nurse expect the child to exhibit?

In transposition of the great vessels (TGV), the aorta and the pulmonary artery are switched, causing oxygen-rich blood to be pumped back to the lungs and oxygen-poor blood to be pumped out to the body. The ductus arteriosus, a fetal blood vessel that normally closes shortly after birth, allows blood to mix between the two circulations.

Prostaglandin E1 is used to keep the ductus arteriosus open, allowing for a controlled mixing of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood, which can improve oxygen delivery to the body in cases of TGV. This helps maintain oxygenation until corrective surgical interventions can be performed.

The other options, A (decrease pulmonary congestion), B (stimulate the production of red blood cells), and D (increase blood flow to the system), do not accurately describe the primary purpose of Prostaglandin E1 in the context of TGV. The main goal is to maintain a pathway for oxygenated blood to mix with deoxygenated blood to improve oxygen delivery to the body.

A. Shunted past the pulmonary circulation, causing pulmonary hypoxia: This option is not the primary reason for dyspnea in PDA. While there is shunting, it doesn't directly cause pulmonary hypoxia.

B. Circulated through the lungs again, causing pulmonary circulatory congestion: This option is partially correct but does not address the primary reason for dyspnea, which is the bypassing of the left side of the heart.

C. Circulated through the ductus from the pulmonary artery to the aorta, bypassing the left side of the heart.

In patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), a fetal blood vessel called the ductus arteriosus fails to close after birth. This allows oxygenated blood from the left atrium to be shunted directly from the aorta to the pulmonary artery, bypassing the normal route through the left side of the heart and into the systemic circulation. The shunting of oxygenated blood back into the pulmonary circulation can lead to increased pulmonary blood flow and circulatory congestion, causing symptoms such as dyspnea.

D. Shunted past cardiac arteries, causing myocardial hypoxia: PDA primarily affects the pulmonary circulation and left side of the heart, not the coronary arteries. Myocardial hypoxia is not the primary mechanism of dyspnea in PDA.