A nurse is assessing a 5-year-old with multiple deformities of the limbs and joints. She also has a thin upper lip, small teeth, and trouble learning in school. The nurse suspects that these signs are most likely the result of which of the following?
Explanation
• Physical features of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome include deformities such as a small head and brain, sunken nasal bridge, thin upper lip, small teeth, and an upturned nose.
• FAS can also cause vision difficulties, intellectual disabilities, a short attention span, delayed cognitive development, and poor impulse control.
• Alcohol exposure presents a risk of fetal brain damage at any point during pregnancy because brain development is ongoing throughout pregnancy.
Incorrect options:
• Down syndrome symptoms include short stature, short and wide neck, slanted eyes, low-set ears, hypotonia, intellectual disability, and learning disabilities.
• Klinefelter syndrome presents in males as less facial and body hair, reduced muscle mass and strength, broad hips, gynecomastia, and hypogonadism.
• Signs and symptoms of mercury poisoning are systemic, including peripheral neuropathy, skin discoloration (pink), swelling, shedding of the skin, tremors, visual and hearing impairment, and fatigue.