While Making Rounds in the Newborn Nursery, a Physician Is

question 548

Multiple Choice

While making rounds in the newborn nursery, a physician is asked to examine a 2-day-old infant who is not feeding well.  A nurse reports that the infant is irritable, is not sleeping well, and has had several episodes of vomiting and loose stools that day.  A review of the maternal history reveals that the mother had poor prenatal care and the pregnancy was complicated by intrauterine growth restriction.  On examination, the infant is diaphoretic and has a high-pitched cry.  The infant is also noted to have occasional sneezing and is mildly tachypneic.  No dysmorphic features are noted and the remainder of the examination is unremarkable.  This infant's symptoms are most likely caused by prenatal exposure to which of the following?

• A)Alcohol
• B)Cocaine
• C)Heroin
• D)Phenytoin
• E)Valproic acid

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Definitions:

Chemical Reactions

Processes that involve rearrangement of the molecules or ionic structure of substances, resulting in the formation of new products.

Growth

An increase in the size, number, value, or strength of something, often a natural biological process in living organisms involving an increase in cell size or number.

Chemical Unit

A specific quantity of a substance used in chemistry for measurement, such as a mole.

Atom

The smallest quantity of an element that retains the chemical properties of that element.