Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Practice Exam

Cyanosis is a significant clinical manifestation in newborns that can indicate the presence of congenital heart defects. It occurs when there is insufficient oxygen in the blood or when deoxygenated blood is being circulated to the body's tissues, leading to a bluish discoloration, usually noticeable in the lips, face, and extremities. In the context of congenital heart defects, cyanosis often results from shunting of blood away from the lungs or mixing oxygenated and deoxygenated blood due to structural heart abnormalities.

Other options like jaundice, which indicates liver function issues or hemolysis, acrocyanosis, a common and benign condition characterized by blue discoloration of the hands and feet due to poor circulation, and weight gain, which might reflect nutritional status but does not directly indicate cardiovascular issues, do not specifically serve as indicators of congenital heart defects in the same way that cyanosis does. Therefore, the manifestation of cyanosis is both concerning and necessitates further investigation for potential congenital heart defects in newborns.