Question

While assessing a patient, the nurse finds that the patient's ears are 3 cm in length and have a small, painless nodule at the helix. What does the nurse infer from these findings?

The patient has microtia and swimmer's ear.

The patient has macrotia and swimmer's ear.

The patient has microtia and Darwin's tubercle.

The patient has macrotia and Darwin's tubercle.

Answer 1

The patient has a small, painless nodule at the helix, known as Darwin's tubercle, and there's no evidence of otitis externa (swimmer's ear) based on the information provided.

Step-by-step explanation:

The nurse's findings from assessing the patient's ears indicate the presence of a small, painless nodule at the helix, which is commonly referred to as Darwin's tubercle. It is a normal variant of ear anatomy and is not usually associated with any medical condition.

The ears measuring 3 cm in length could fall within the normal range; however, without more context, it is not possible to determine whether the patient has microtia (abnormally small ears) or macrotia (abnormally large ears). Since there is no mention of symptoms such as itching, redness, discomfort, fever, or pain, there is no evidence to suggest that the patient has otitis externa, also known as swimmer's ear, which is an infection of the ear canal caused by P. aeruginosa and is more commonly associated with frequent pool or hot tub use.