Ch. 18 Neurologic Emergencies Flashcards
Altered mental status
Any deviation from alert and oriented to person, place, time, and event, or any deviation from a patient’s normal baseline mental status.
Aneurysm
A swelling or enlargement of a part of an artery, resulting from weakening of the arteerial wall.
Aphasia
The inability to understand and/or produce speech.
Atherosclerosis
A disorder in which cholesterol and calcium build up inside the walls of blood vessels, eventually leading to partial or complete blockage of blood flow.
Aura
A sensation experienced before a seizure; serves as a warning sign that a seizure is about to occur.
Cerebrovascular accident
An interruption of blood flow to the brain that results in the loss of brain function; also called a stroke.
Coma
A state of profound unconsciousness from which the patient cannot be roused.
Delirium
A temporary change in mental status characterized by disorganized thoughts, inattention, memory loss, disorientation, striking changes in personality and affect, hallucinations, delusions, or a decreased level of consciousness.
Dysarthria
Slurred speech.
Embolus
A blood clot or other substance in the circulatory system that travels to a blood vessel wheere it causes a blockage of blood flow.
Epilepsy
A disorder in which abnormal electical dischafges occur in the brain, cuasing seizures and possible loss of consciousness.
Febrile seizures
Seizures that result from sudden high fevers; most often seen in children
Focal seizure
A seizure affecting a limited portion of the brain.
Generalized seizure
A seizure charachterized by severe twitching of all the body’s muscles that may last several minutes or more; formerly known as a grand mal sezure.
Hemiparesis
Weakness on on e side of the body.
Hemorrhagic stroke
A type of stroke that occurs as a result of bleeding inside the brain.
Hyperglycemia
An abnormally high blood glucose level.
Hypoglycemia
An abnormally low blood glucose level.
Incontinence
Loss of bowel and/or bladder control; may be a result of a generalized seizure.
Ischemia
A lack of oxygen that deprives tissues of necessary nutrients, resulting from partial or complete blockage of blood flow; potentially reversible because permantent injury has not yet occured.
Ischemic stroke
A type of stroke that occurs when blood flow to a particular part of the brain is cut off by a blockage (eg , a blood clot) inside a blood vessel.
Postictal state
The period following a seizure that lasts 5 to 30 minutes; characterized by labored respirations and some degree of altered mental status.
Seizure
A neurologic episode caused by a surge of electical activity in the brain; can be a convulsion characterized by generalized, uncoordinated muscular activity, and cam be assosciated with loss of consciousness.
Status epilepticus
A condition in which seizures recur every few minutes or last longer than 30 minutes.
