Difficulty: Medium
Average Score: 86%
Simulated
A 3-week-old infant is brought to the well-baby clinic for a phenylketonuria (PKU) screening test. The nurse reviews the results of the serum phenylalanine levels and notes that the level is 1.0 mg/dL (60 mmol/L). What is the nurse's priority action?
Correct answer
A
Rationale
The normal PKU level is 0.8 to 1.8 mg/dL (48 to 109 mmol/L). With early postpartum discharge, screening is often performed when the infant is less than 2 days old because of the concern that the infant will be lost to follow-up. Infants should be rescreened by the time that they are 14 days old if the initial screening was done when the infant was 24 to 48 hours old.