A mother brings her 3-year-old daughter to the emergency department because the child has been vomiting and having diarrhea for the past 36 hours. When assessing this child's temperature, which method would be least appropriate?
A) Oral
B) Tympanic
C) Rectal
D) Axillary
Ans: C
Obtaining the child's temperature via the rectal route would be least appropriate because the child has diarrhea, and insertion of the thermometer might traumatize the rectal mucosa. Additionally, the rectal route is highly invasive and a child of this age fears body invasion. Using the oral route might be problematic due to the child's age and inability to cooperate, especially in light of the child's vomiting. However, it would not be as dangerous as obtaining a rectal temperature. The tympanic or axillary method would be the most appropriate method.
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