The nurse is administering an intramuscular injection of an antibiotic to a 3-month-old infant. Which would be the best site for the nurse to give this medication?

Choice A reason: Having the nurse do everything may disrupt the toddler’s trust in parents, hindering adaptation. Following home routines provides familiarity, making this counterproductive and incorrect compared to maintaining continuity to ease the toddler’s transition from home to the hospital environment.

Choice B reason: Telling a toddler expectations assumes cognitive understanding beyond their developmental stage, potentially increasing anxiety. Home routines offer comfort, making this less effective and incorrect compared to the nurse’s focus on familiarity to support the toddler’s hospital adaptation process.

Choice C reason: Following home routines maintains familiarity, reducing stress and aiding a toddler’s adaptation to the hospital. This aligns with pediatric psychosocial care principles, making it the most beneficial action for the nurse to implement to ease the toddler’s transition from home to hospital.

Choice D reason: Allowing a toddler to dictate actions disregards necessary medical routines, potentially compromising care and safety. Home routines provide structure, making this impractical and incorrect compared to the nurse’s role in maintaining familiarity to support the toddler’s hospital adaptation.

Choice A reason: Hemophilia causes bleeding issues, not a strawberry tongue, which is a mucosal symptom. Kawasaki disease’s characteristic tongue appearance matches the description, making this unrelated and incorrect compared to the specific disorder associated with the child’s reported tongue manifestation in the assessment.

Choice B reason: Congestive heart failure affects cardiac function, not oral mucosa, and doesn’t cause a strawberry tongue. Kawasaki disease is the condition linked to this symptom, making this irrelevant and incorrect for the nurse’s recognition of the child’s tongue appearance in data collection.

Choice C reason: A strawberry tongue, with a red, bumpy appearance, is a hallmark of Kawasaki disease, often seen with fever and rash. This aligns with pediatric infectious disease criteria, making it the correct disorder the nurse recognizes based on the caregiver’s description of the child’s tongue.

Choice D reason: Rheumatic fever may cause oral symptoms but not a classic strawberry tongue, which is specific to Kawasaki disease. The latter’s mucosal findings are distinctive, making this less accurate and incorrect compared to identifying Kawasaki disease as the cause of the tongue manifestation.