Exam 4 (Ch 22 & 23) (Mod 13) Flashcards
Assessment of Visual System
What type of information would be included in a health history of the visual system?
Date of last ocular exam
Glasses
Contact lenses
Etc.
Assessment of Visual System
What kind of medications would the HCP be intrested in regareds to the visula system?
Eye drops
Cold medications can contain a form epinephrine (dilates pupil)
Corticosteroids, thyroid medications, oral hypoglycemics (can contribute to cataracts or glaucoma)
Assessment of Visual System
What kind of surgical history should be included in the assessment of visual system?
Includes ocular and non-ocular surgeries, laser surgeries and invasive treatment like retinal injections
What is diplopia?
The perception of two images when only one exists (double vision)
Potential Causes: Muscle imbalances in the eye (strabismus), cranial nerve palsies, neurological disorders (multiple sclerosis, stroke), thyroid eye disease, and others.
What is photophobia?
Fear of light
Sensitivity to light, causing discomfort or pain in the eyes when exposed to bright light.
Potential Causes: Migraines, uveitis, corneal abrasions, meningitis, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and others.
Nursing Assessment
What are the 6 test performed during the nursing assessment of the eyes?
- Color Vision Testing
- Visual Acuity Testing
- Tonometry
- Keratometry
- Ophthalmoscopy
- Pupil Function Testing
Nursing Assessment
What is the purpose, method, & nursing role for the Color Vision Testing?
- Purpose: Evaluates the patient’s ability to distinguish colors. This is crucial for detecting color blindness, which can be congenital or acquired due to certain diseases or medications.
- Method: Uses standardized tests like the Ishihara color plates, which consist of dots forming numbers or patterns that individuals with normal color vision can see, but those with deficiencies cannot.
- Nursing Role: Administering the test, documenting results, and educating the patient about the implications of any identified color vision deficiency.
Nursing Assessment
What is the purpose, method, & nursing role for the Visual Acuity Testing?
- Purpose: Measures the sharpness and clarity of vision.
- Method: Uses a Snellen chart (for distance vision) or a Rosenbaum chart (for near vision). The patient reads lines of letters or symbols of decreasing size.
- Nursing Role: Assisting with the test, ensuring proper lighting and positioning, accurately recording the results (e.g., 20/20, 20/40), and noting any corrective lenses used.
Nursing Assessment
What is the purpose, method, & nursing role for the Tonometry?
- Purpose: Measures the intraocular pressure (IOP), the fluid pressure inside the eye.
- Method: Uses a tonometer to gently flatten the cornea. There are different types, including Goldmann applanation tonometry (considered the gold standard) and non-contact tonometry (air puff).
- Nursing Role: Assisting with the procedure, instilling anesthetic drops if required, ensuring patient comfort, and recording IOP readings. Elevated IOP is a risk factor for glaucoma.
Nursing Assessment
What is the purpose, method, & nursing role for the Keratometry?
- Purpose: Measures the curvature of the cornea, the eye’s front surface.
- Method: Uses a keratometer, which projects a light pattern onto the cornea and measures the reflected image.
- Nursing Role: Assisting with the procedure, ensuring proper patient positioning, and recording the keratometry readings. This is essential for contact lens fitting and cataract surgery planning.
Nursing Assessment
What is the purpose, method, & nursing role for the Ophthalmoscopy?
- Purpose: Examines the interior structures of the eye, including the retina, optic disc, and blood vessels.
- Method: Uses an ophthalmoscope, which projects a light into the eye, allowing the examiner to visualize the internal structures.
- Nursing Role: Assisting with the procedure, ensuring patient comfort, and documenting observations (e.g., condition of the optic disc, presence of hemorrhages, etc.).
Nursing Assessment
What is the purpose, method, & nursing role for the Pupil Function Testing?
- Purpose: Assesses the pupils’ size, shape, and reaction to light.
- Method: Involves observing the pupils in both dim and bright light, as well as testing their response to direct and consensual light stimulation.
- Nursing Role: Performing the examination, documenting pupil size, shape, equality, and reaction to light (PERRLA: Pupils Equal, Round, Reactive to Light and Accommodation). Abnormal pupil responses can indicate neurological conditions.
Visual Acuity: Snellen Chart
What is the Snellen Chart?
A chart that consists of rows of letters, with each subsequent row containing smaller letters.
Visual Acuity: Snellen Chart
How is the Snellen Chart test conducted?
What eye is always assessed first?
The person being tested stands 20 feet away from the chart and covers one eye. They then read the letters on each row, starting from the top.
Always assess the right eye first followed by left
If the patient has contacts or glasses leave them on.
Visual Acuity: Snellen Chart
How are the results of the Snellen Chart determined?
The smallest line that the person can read accurately determines their visual acuity.
PERRL(A)
What does PERRLA stand for?
pupils are equal, round and reactive to light and accommodation
PERRL(A)
What is the different between direct and consensual responds to light?
Direct: When a light is shone into one eye, that pupil should constrict (become smaller).
Consensual: When a light is shone into one eye, the pupil of the opposite eye should also constrict, even though the light is not directly shining into it.
PERRL(A)
What is anisocoria?
A condition where the pupils of the eyes are different sizes, and it can be a normal variation or a sign of an underlying medical issue.
Assessment Abnormalities: Visual System
What is blurred vision?
Description: Loss of sharpness and clarity of vision, making objects appear hazy or out of focus. (can be sudden or gradual)
Potential Causes: Refractive errors (nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism), cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, dry eye, corneal abrasions, diabetic retinopathy, optic neuritis, and many others.
Assessment Abnormalities: Visual System
What is Dryness in relation to the eyes?
Description: A sensation of grittiness, burning, or irritation in the eyes due to insufficient tear production.
Potential Causes: Dry eye syndrome, environmental factors (wind, dry air), certain medications, aging, autoimmune diseases (Sjogren’s syndrome), and others.
Assessment Abnormalities: Visual System
What is a potential cause of pain in the eye?
Description: Discomfort or aching in or around the eye.
Potential Causes: Corneal abrasions, glaucoma, uveitis, scleritis, optic neuritis, headaches (migraines, cluster headaches), sinus infections, and others. (foreign object)
Assessment Abnormalities: Visual System
What are spots/floaters?
Description: Seeing small specks, threads, or cobweb-like shapes that drift across the field of vision.
Potential Causes: Age-related changes in the vitreous humor (the gel-like substance that fills the eye), posterior vitreous detachment (PVD), retinal tears or detachment, diabetic retinopathy, and others.
Assessment Abnormalities: Eyelids
What are allergic reactions of the eyes?
Symptoms?
Causes?
Description: Inflammation and swelling of the eyelids due to an allergic response.
Symptoms: Redness, itching, swelling, tearing, and discomfort.
Causes: Contact dermatitis (from cosmetics, pollen, pet dander), hay fever, and other allergies.
Assessment Abnormalities: Eyelids
What is Blepharitis?
Symptoms?
Causes?
Description: Inflammation of the eyelid margins, often affecting the base of the eyelashes.
Symptoms: Redness, itching, burning, crusting of the eyelids, and sometimes loss of eyelashes.
Causes: Bacterial infection, skin conditions (seborrheic dermatitis, rosacea), and clogged oil glands.