The 22-month-old child is brought to the emergency department with large, blistered burns to both buttocks by his mother’s boyfriend. The mother’s boyfriend states the child has been in his care while the mother is away on a business trip. He reports the child accidentally fell into the bath during the preparation before the water had had a chance to cool. The child’s second-degree wounds are dressed after intravenous morphine is administered. The nurse works with the healthcare team to perform which intervention?

Question

The 22-month-old child is brought to the emergency department with large, blistered burns to both buttocks by his mother&rsquo;s boyfriend. The mother&rsquo;s boyfriend states the child has been in his care while the mother is away on a business trip. He reports the child accidentally fell into the bath during the preparation before the water had had a chance to cool. The child&rsquo;s second-degree wounds are dressed after intravenous morphine is administered. The nurse works with the healthcare team to perform which intervention?

Accepted Answer

Prepare the child for admission to the general medicine floor. Burn wounds that exist only on the buttocks of a child are consistent with child abuse. The child should be admitted for further observation; once the child is secured, then child protective services is contacted. Providing wound care instructions or education about testing bathwater to the mother&rsquo;s boyfriend does not protect the child from an abusive situation.

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