Question Of The Day: Infant

Q. A 10-month-old child with recurrent otitis media is brought to the clinic for evaluation. To help determine the cause of the child's condition, the nurse should ask the parents:

A. "Does water ever get into the baby's ears during shampooing?"
B. "Do you give the baby a bottle to take to bed?"
C. "Have you noticed a lot of wax in the baby's ears?"
D. "Can the baby combine two words when speaking?"

Correct Answer: B

Reason: In a young child, the eustachian tube is relatively short, wide, and horizontal, promoting drainage of secretions from the nasopharynx into the middle ear. Therefore, asking if the child takes a bottle to bed is appropriate because drinking while lying down may cause fluids to pool in the pharyngeal cavity, increasing the risk of otitis media. Asking if the parent noticed earwax, or cerumen, in the external ear canal is incorrect because wax doesn't promote the development of otitis media. During shampooing, water may become trapped in the external ear canal by large amounts of cerumen, possibly causing otitis external (external ear inflammation) as opposed to internal ear inflammation. Asking if the infant can combine two words is incorrect because a 10-month-old child isn't expected to do so.