A nurse is caring for an 8-year-old child who has acute rheumatic fever. Which of the following assessments is the nurse's priority immediately after admission?

Rationale: A. While addressing parental anxiety is important, it is not the immediate priority for the child’s safety. B. Assessing the rash provides diagnostic information but does not address the most urgent risk. C. Determining joint pain severity is important for comfort but is not the priority in acute rheumatic fever. D. Acute rheumatic fever can involve carditis, which may lead to heart failure. Auscultating heart sounds immediately helps identify murmurs, tachycardia, or other early signs of cardiac involvement, which is the highest priority.