When developing applications with Couchbase, a common challenge arises when newly created documents do not immediately appear in query results due to the time needed for indexers to process mutations. To address this, developers can define scan consistency within a Node.js application to ensure that queries yield the desired results. By default, N1QL queries are unbounded, prioritizing speed by returning only currently indexed data. However, developers can use REQUEST_PLUS consistency to delay query execution until all mutations are processed. Similarly, when using Ottoman.js, setting LOCAL consistency achieves the same effect. This flexibility allows developers to balance performance and accuracy based on their application's needs. For more detailed information, referring to Couchbase's documentation on scan consistency is recommended.