FAU Advanced Health Assessment Practice Test

In assessing a newborn, what is a pathologic condition that must be ruled out?

1. Genital herpes

2. Scrotal edema

3. Presence of 5 or more café-au-lait spots

4. Inguinal hernia

The correct answer is: Presence of 5 or more café-au-lait spots

In evaluating a newborn, the presence of five or more café-au-lait spots is a significant finding that warrants further investigation due to its association with neurofibromatosis type 1, a genetic disorder. Café-au-lait spots are flat, pigmented birthmarks that can be benign on their own. However, when there are five or more such spots, especially larger than 5 mm in neonates and over 15 mm in older children, it raises suspicion for neurofibromatosis and other potential genetic syndromes. Therefore, ruling this condition out is crucial during the newborn assessment to ensure early intervention and management if necessary. Other conditions mentioned, such as genital herpes, scrotal edema, and inguinal hernia, while relevant in certain contexts, do not carry the same level of potential long-term implications or immediate concern as the presence of multiple café-au-lait spots in a newborn. Assessing these other conditions is important, but they do not typically signal a broader, more serious pathologic condition that needs to be ruled out as urgently as the risk posed by the café-au-lait spots.