Question

The nurse is performing an initial assessment on a newborn. On assessment, which finding could be indicative of a congenital defect?

Answer 1

Findings indicative of congenital defects in a newborn may include low Apgar scores, abnormalities in heart rate, muscle tone, and respiratory issues. Other signs such as auscultation revealing unusual heart sounds can suggest congenital heart defects.

Step-by-step explanation:

The assessment findings that could be indicative of a congenital defect in a newborn include abnormalities in the criteria evaluated during the Apgar score. This scoring system assesses five criteria: skin color, heart rate, reflex, muscle tone, and respiration. Each criterion is given a score of 0, 1, or 2, at 1 and 5 minutes after birth, with a total possible score of 10. Lower scores indicate that a newborn may be in distress and possibly have a congenital defect. Specific signs, such as a slow heart rate (bradycardia), difficulty in feeding, irritability, and hypotonia (limpness), can suggest early onset disease. Unusual heart sounds detected through auscultation may hint at septal defects, which are congenital heart anomalies.

If a child is born prematurely, insufficient production of pulmonary surfactant by type II cells can lead to trouble with lung inflation (difficulty inflating the lungs).