Final answer:
Recurrent infections would be recognized as an AIDS-defining condition in an American child with HIV.
Step-by-step explanation:
In an American child with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a symptom that the nurse would recognize as an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-defining condition is recurrent infections.
Stage 3 of AIDS is characterized by severe damage to the immune system by HIV, resulting in opportunistic illnesses. Common symptoms of AIDS include chills, fever, sweats, swollen lymph glands, weakness, and weight loss. Patients with AIDS often develop rare cancers and opportunistic infections. The persistence of recurrent infections in an American child with HIV would be indicative of AIDS.