A 6-month-old baby who is not yet mobile presents with bruising on the cheek and the parents give no explanation. What is the most appropriate action?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. Urgent referral to children's social care and a paediatrician
- Step 1: Bruising in a non-mobile baby is unusual.
- Step 2: NICE guidance on child maltreatment says it is a red flag requiring urgent paediatric and social care assessment.
Answer
Urgent referral to children's social care and a paediatrician.
Why not the others: Reassure the parents that infants bruise easily and discharge the child: Discharge risks further harm. Treat it as normal bruising of infancy and document the finding only: Bruising in non-mobile infants is not normal. Advise a review in two weeks to see whether the bruise has faded by then: A delay is unsafe.
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