{"id":139509,"date":"2024-09-17T10:36:02","date_gmt":"2024-09-17T10:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learnexams.com\/blog\/?p=139509"},"modified":"2024-09-17T10:36:05","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T10:36:05","slug":"a-nurse-is-preparing-to-administer-erythromycin-eye-ointment-to-a-newborn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/17\/a-nurse-is-preparing-to-administer-erythromycin-eye-ointment-to-a-newborn\/","title":{"rendered":"A nurse is preparing to administer erythromycin eye ointment to a newborn"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A nurse is preparing to administer erythromycin eye ointment to a newborn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the purpose of this intervention?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A. To prevent dryness and irritation of the eyes
B. To prevent ophthalmia neonatorum, a serious eye infection caused by gonorrhea or chlamydia
C. To prevent retinopathy of prematurity, a condition that can lead to blindness in premature infants
D. To prevent conjunctivitis, a common eye infection in newborns<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Correct Answer and Explanation is:<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The correct answer is:
B. To prevent ophthalmia neonatorum, a serious eye infection caused by gonorrhea or chlamydia.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Explanation:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Erythromycin eye ointment is administered to newborns as a preventive measure against ophthalmia neonatorum<\/strong>, a severe eye infection that can result from exposure to Neisseria gonorrhoeae<\/strong> or Chlamydia trachomatis<\/strong> during childbirth. Ophthalmia neonatorum, if untreated, can lead to serious complications, including blindness. The infection occurs when the infant passes through the birth canal of a mother who may have a gonorrhea or chlamydia infection, even if she shows no symptoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The routine application of erythromycin ointment as an eye prophylaxis is recommended by health authorities like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)<\/strong> and the World Health Organization (WHO)<\/strong>. The purpose of this practice is not to treat an existing infection but to prevent the potential onset of ophthalmia neonatorum<\/strong> by eradicating the bacteria that might be present in the infant’s eyes following delivery. This intervention is particularly important in preventing the gonococcal form of ophthalmia neonatorum, which can cause rapid and severe corneal damage, potentially leading to permanent vision loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why the other options are incorrect:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • A. Prevent dryness and irritation of the eyes<\/strong>: While erythromycin ointment does act as a lubricant, its primary function is not to prevent dryness or irritation but to prevent bacterial infections.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • C. Prevent retinopathy of prematurity<\/strong>: Retinopathy of prematurity is a condition affecting the retinas of premature infants, primarily due to oxygen therapy, and is unrelated to erythromycin eye prophylaxis.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • D. Prevent conjunctivitis<\/strong>: Although ophthalmia neonatorum is a form of conjunctivitis, erythromycin specifically targets infections caused by gonorrhea or chlamydia, not more common forms of conjunctivitis that may occur in newborns.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Thus, the use of erythromycin ointment in newborns is an essential preventive intervention that significantly reduces the risk of blindness caused by untreated eye infections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A nurse is preparing to administer erythromycin eye ointment to a newborn. What is the purpose of this intervention? A. To prevent dryness and irritation of the eyesB. To prevent ophthalmia neonatorum, a serious eye infection caused by gonorrhea or chlamydiaC. To prevent retinopathy of prematurity, a condition that can lead to blindness in premature […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-139509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exams-certification"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139509\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}