The nurse could best auscultate the point of maximum impulse (PMI) in

The nurse could best auscultate the point of maximum impulse (PMI) in an 8-year-old child at the:

1. Fourth intercostal space, left of the midclavicular line
2. Fifth intercostal space, left of the midclavicular line
3. Second intercostal space, right of the midclavicular line
4. Third intercostal space, right of the midclavicular line

ANSWER

ANS: 2
By the age of 7, a child’s PMI is in the same location as in adults; that is, the fifth intercostal space, left of the midclavicular line. The PMI of an 8-year-old child is more likely to be located at the fifth intercostal space, left of the midclavicular line.
The PMI is not located to the right of the midclavicular line. The PMI of an infant is at the third or fourth intercostal space, left of the midclavicular line.