The caregiver of a 4-year-old girl who lives in a heavily wooded area calls the clinic nurse to report that the child has a swollen tick on her arm. What would be the best action for the caregiver to follow in removing the tick?
The caregiver should use tweezers to carefully remove the tick without crushing it.
The caregiver should hold a gauze pad beneath the tick to catch the blood and carefully crush the tick.
The caregiver should have another adult hold the child still, light a match and let it burn for 1 second, then blow out the match and quickly hold it on the tick.
The caregiver should take the child to a healthcare facility where the tick can be removed aseptically.
The Correct Answer is A
Choice A reason: Using tweezers to gently remove a tick without crushing it minimizes infection risk and ensures complete removal, reducing Lyme disease transmission. This aligns with pediatric infectious disease guidelines for tick removal, making it the best action for the caregiver to follow for the 4-year-old.
Choice B reason: Crushing the tick risks releasing pathogens into the bite site, increasing infection risk. Gentle tweezer removal is the standard, as it avoids dispersing tick contents, making this unsafe and incorrect for the proper method of removing a swollen tick from the child’s arm.
Choice C reason: Using a hot match to remove a tick is ineffective and risks burning the child or driving pathogens deeper. Tweezers ensure safe, complete removal, making this dangerous and incorrect compared to the recommended technique for tick removal in a child in a wooded area.
Choice D reason: Taking the child to a healthcare facility is unnecessary for a routine tick removal, which caregivers can perform with tweezers. This delays action and increases inconvenience, making it incorrect compared to the effective, immediate tweezer method for tick removal in this scenario.
Nursing Test Bank
Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams
Related Questions
Correct Answer is D
Explanation
Choice A reason: The “shortcut” scale is not a standard method for the West nomogram, which calculates body surface area (BSA) for precise dosing. Using BSA ensures accuracy for a 76-lb, 50-inch child, making this simplified approach incorrect for calculating a safe pediatric medication dosage in clinical practice.
Choice B reason: Aligning height and weight to a percentage of adult dosage is not how the West nomogram works; it calculates BSA. The correct method uses BSA relative to adult BSA, making this incorrect, as it skips the critical step of surface area calculation for accurate pediatric dosing.
Choice C reason: Multiplying height and weight and dividing the adult dosage is not a nomogram method. The West nomogram uses BSA to adjust doses, comparing child and adult surface areas, making this mathematically incorrect and inappropriate for calculating a safe pediatric medication dose for the child.
Choice D reason: The West nomogram calculates a child’s BSA using height (50 inches) and weight (76 lb), then divides by the average adult BSA (1.7 m²) to find the proportion of the adult dose (300 mg). This method ensures accurate pediatric dosing, making it the correct choice for safe administration.
Correct Answer is A
Explanation
Choice A reason: Reassuring the sister while attending to the child and involving her in interventions reduces her anxiety, stabilizing the 5-year-old’s emotional state. This aligns with pediatric emergency care principles, making it the best initial action to manage the escalating anxiety in the emergency room.
Choice B reason: Asking the sister to leave may increase her distress and isolate the child, worsening his anxiety. Reassuring and involving her is more supportive, making this counterproductive and incorrect compared to the nurse’s role in calming both the caregiver and child effectively.
Choice C reason: Reassuring the child about his sister’s nerves doesn’t address her anxiety, which is escalating his distress. Involving the sister in care reduces both anxieties, making this insufficient and incorrect compared to the nurse’s priority of stabilizing the emotional environment in the ER.
Choice D reason: Asking the sister to calm down may heighten her distress, as she’s already hysterical, and doesn’t offer support. Reassuring and involving her helps both, making this ineffective and incorrect compared to the nurse’s action to reduce anxiety for the child and caregiver.
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