Final answer:
Auscultation is not the correct technique to assess an underactive thyroid gland; instead, physical examination, clinical symptoms, and blood tests are typically used to measure thyroid hormone levels.
Step-by-step explanation:
The nurse assessing a child for an underactive thyroid gland, or hypothyroidism, would utilize several assessment techniques, but auscultation is not typically one of them for thyroid function. Auscultation is the process of listening to the internal sounds of the body, usually using a stethoscope, and is more commonly associated with examining the heart or lungs.
Instead, to assess thyroid function, the nurse might check for physical signs such as swelling in the neck, reflect on the patient's clinical symptoms, and recommend blood tests to measure levels of thyroid hormones and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). Additionally, imaging tests like a thyroid ultrasound or radioactive iodine uptake might be employed.
For example, Patient A exhibiting symptoms such as weight gain, cold sensitivity, low heart rate, and fatigue is likely experiencing hypothyroidism. This is because the symptoms align with a decreased metabolism that can result from less thyroid hormone production. A correct diagnosis would involve checking TSH levels, as a deficiency in TSH can lead to insufficient stimulation of the thyroid gland and could cause the observed symptoms of weight gain and fatigue.