Appraoch to Neuro Exam Flashcards
What is the first thing you do before doing a neurological exam?
Check the patients alertness because a neuro exam requires feedback from the patient
What is aphasia?
disorder in producing or undrerstanding language
What is dysarthria?
Defective articulation caused by defect in motor control of speech apparatus
What is A&O x4?
Oriented x1 is person oriented x2 is person and place Oriented x3 is person place time Oriented x4 is event
How do you look for depression?
Asking if they have felt down, depressed or hopeless lately. Adk if they have felt little interest or pleasure in doing things.
What is delirium?
It is REVERSIBLE common in older adults with hospitilizaiton
What is dementia?
Must eliminate depression and delirium before making diagnosis and medication can slow progression
How do you do a CN exam?
Have a pattern and do it the same every time. You only need light for pupillary reflex and app for snellen eye chart for visual acuity
How do you test CN I-IV?
- Smell
- Visual acuity
- Raide eyelids, pupil constriction/dilation and most extraocular movements
- Downward internal rotation of eyes (look to nose)
How do you test CN V-XII?
- Check sensory dermatomes check motor with clencthing jaw, corneal reflex
- Lateral deviatiohn of eye (TEST)
- Motor facial movments including expression closing of eye and mouth Sensory taste for anterior 2/3 tongue
- Hearing in tact?
- Phonation and sensory posterior 1/3 taste, gag reflex
- Raise palate, motor function of palate, pharynx
- Shrug shoulders and turn head against resistance
- Motor involvemnt of tongue, is it midline
What causes ptosis?
- Drooping of the eye due to levator palpebrae weakness from a CN III lesion
What causes pupillary deilation or asymmetry?
- disruption of ciliary plexus specifically parasymp innervation of pupil for miosis (constriction). If severe you see fixed dilated pupil.
- Due to CN III lesion
Opthalmoplegia?
- Denervation of majority of extraocuular mms Down and Out gaze
- Due to CN III lesion
How does occulomotor palsy prestent?
Sudden unilateral ptosis and opthaolmoplegia. Diplopia can be masked by severity of ptosis
Hypertropia?
Eye drifts upwards
Trochlear lesion
Weakness of downward gaze?
- due to weakness of SO mm eye drifts upwards
- trochlear nerve lesion
Vertical diplopia?
- Double vision that increases looking down
- CN IV palsy
How does CN IV palsy present?
Vertical diplopia difficulty reading or walking down staris. Also tortiocllis secondary to head tilting opposite to the lesion side