History Taking CH1 Flashcards
A history is obtained by:
a) asking a series of organized and specific questions
b) observing the patient’s actions in the exam room
c) allowing the patient to discuss anything he or she wishes
d) asking the same questions of each patient during every exam
a) The questions should be organized and specific, directing the patient’s narrative and
tailored to the problems at hand.
The history should be recorded:
a) by writing down the patient’s entire story, word-for-word
b) by condensing the patient’s story, including pertinent facts
c) by interpreting the patient’s story and suggesting a diagnosis
d) by copying patient information from a questionnaire
b) The assistant should avoid writing down the patient’s every word or trying to interpret.
Diagnosis is the physician’s realm. Questionnaires have their place, but cannot be used for an
entire history because each patient is different.
When taking a history on a school-aged child, it is important to:
a) listen only to the parent’s account of the illness
b) listen only to the child’s account of the illness
c) talk to the parent outside of the child’s hearing
d) get an account of the illness from both the parent and child
d) A normal school-aged child is usually able to give a fairly good history, with the parent
affirming the information.
Which of the following statements is false?
a) A thorough history can direct a physician toward a final diagnosis.
b) All information given by the patient can be shared with insurance companies without
patient permission.
c) Statements made by the patient should lead the assistant into additional questions that
can be asked.
d) All patient information is private unless a consent release form is signed.
b) The patient must sign a consent to release information, even to insurance companies.
Which of the following is not a part of a history?
a) presenting complaint
b) medications currently used
c) family eye disease
d) visual acuity
d) Visual acuity is part of the examination, not the history.
The “presenting complaint” is:
a) the main reason that the patient has come to the office
b) always the most serious of the patient’s many complaints
c) the only item with which the history is really concerned
d) the main reason the patient should be dilated
a) The presenting complaint is the patient’s main reason for coming in. An accurate history
might include other complaints as well, however.
An example of a question relating to onset would be:
a) “Can you still function at work?”
b) “When did you first notice the problem?”
c) “What treatment have you tried?”
d) “Has the problem worsened?”
b) Onset relates to when the patient first noticed the problem.
The question “Does your head hurt so badly that you have to leave school early?” relates to:
a) onset
b) duration
c) progression
d) severity
d) The severity of a problem relates to the amount of disability a patient suffers.
To obtain the most important information about the presenting complaint, you should
ask questions relating to:
a) location, timing, aggravating and alleviating factors, and family history
b) location, quality, severity, timing, and aggravating and alleviating factors
c) location, severity, timing, drug allergies, and past surgical procedures
d) present illness, past ocular history, family history, and description of pain
b) Location, quality, severity, timing, and aggravating and alleviating factors are all pertinent questions regarding the presenting complaint. Family history, drug allergies, past
surgical procedures, and past ocular history are all important parts of the history, but not
the most important regarding the presenting complaint.
A symptom is:
a) something you notice when you look at the patient
b) something that can always be tested and proven
c) a change noticed by the patient
d) any change that results from injury
c) A symptom is a change that the patient notices, whether from injury, illness, or other
situation. It cannot always be proven (eg, pain) or seen by looking (eg, pressure sensations).
An example of a sign is:
a) the patient tells you what part of the eye hurts
b) an elevated intraocular pressure reading
c) the patient complains of blurred vision
d) the patient complains of a pressure sensation behind the eyes
b) A sign is something that you can observe in the patient, such as an intraocular pressure
reading. The other answers are symptoms.
A 56-year-old patient complains of a sudden onset of double vision. It is most impor-
tant to ask:
a) “Does the doubling go away if you cover one eye?”
b) “Are the eyes also red?”
c) “Do the eyes ache?”
d) “Does anyone in your family have a lazy eye?”
a) Double vision in an adult is potentially serious. If vision is single with one eye covered, this indicates a muscle balance problem, which could indicate a possible brain tumor or nerve disorder. If vision is double in one eye only, the eye itself has a problem. The other answers are irrelevant to the situation.
An old photograph of the patient will be most useful to the physician if the patient
complains of or exhibits:
a) eye protrusion, double vision, or floaters
b) lid droop, pupil abnormality, or head tilt
c) redness, pain, halos around lights at night, and decreased vision
d) headache, rash, or lid droop
b) If any of the conditions listed in this answer are present in the photograph, this indicates
that the problem is longstanding.
Your patient has a cut eyelid. It is important to know what caused the injury because:
a) this will determine how the doctor will repair the lid
b) if the object was organic (plant or animal matter), there is a greater risk of infection
c) if the object was metal, there is a greater risk of infection
d) the injury needs to be reported to the National Ocular Injury Registry (NOIR)
b) Any laceration that was caused by or infused with organic matter has a much greater likelihood of becoming infected. The physician might choose to give an oral antibiotic. (There is no such thing as the NOIR!)
A patient presents with a corneal foreign body, and your supervisor asks how the
foreign body got into the eye. This is an important question because:
a) if the patient was not wearing safety glasses, Workers’ Compensation will not pay
b) if the particle was under high speed, there might be internal ocular damage
c) this determines whether or not you should check the patient’s vision
d) this determines whether or not you should irrigate the eye
b) A foreign body at high speed might cause serious internal damage. The patient’s vision
is checked regardless of how the injury occurred. While it is true that you should not irrigate an eye if you suspect the globe has been penetrated (nor is irrigation usually used for a corneal foreign body), b is still the best answer.
The patient is not wearing contacts, but would like to be fit for them. The most rele-
vant question is:
a) “Have you tried contact lenses before?”
b) “Are you interested in disposable lenses?”
c) “Do you have trouble seeing to read?”
d) “Are you allergic to thimerosal?”
a) It is most important to know a patient’s past experience with contacts. Answers b and c are not wrong, but they are not the best. Thimerosal is a preservative that was formerly used in contact lens solutions, but was largely discontinued when many people developed a sensitivity to it.
A 52-year-old patient hands you his single-vision glasses, the only glasses he has.
Which of the following is the most important question in determining the patient’s
refractive status?
a) “How long have you had these?”
b) “Do these help you see better?”
c) “Do you wear these for driving or for reading?”
d) “Do the frames hurt your ears?”
c) While all the questions are good ones, you can determine the patient’s refractive status
only if you know how he uses the glasses. At his age, he has been presbyopic for a number
of years. If the glasses are for driving, he is myopic. If the glasses are for reading, he is
probably emmetropic with presbyopia.
A patient reports that he sleeps in his contact lenses. An important question would be:
a) “What type of lenses are they?”
b) “Do you have astigmatism?”
c) “Why haven’t you had LASIK?”
d) “Are you legally blind without the contacts?”
a) You need to know about the lens material. It may be okay to sleep in a disposable
extended-wear lens, for example, but some contacts should never be left in during sleep,
and the patient is doing something potentially harmful.
The patient gives a history of having a cataract removed with a laser. You should:
a) record the cataract surgery without mentioning the laser, because the patient does not
know what he or she is talking about
b) use this as a “teachable moment” and inform the patient that cataracts cannot be
removed with a laser
c) ask the patient if the surgery was done in a hospital while lying down or sitting up in a
chair (to an instrument like a slit lamp)
d) not record this, because the patient is obviously confused
c) When a patient says something that does not make ophthalmic sense, ask more questions before writing it in the history. She may be referring to having a laser capsulotomy for a so-called “secondary cataract.”
The patient gives a history of having a laser treatment, but is not sure what it was for.
You might discover more by asking:
a) “Have you had cataract surgery?”
b) “Do you have diabetes?”
c) “Do you have glaucoma?”
d) all of the above
d) Laser treatment might be used after cataract surgery (laser capsulotomy), in the case of diabetes (photocoagulation), or glaucoma (trabeculectomy or iridotomy).
The patient states she used to wear contact lenses, but went back to her glasses. A
pertinent question would be:
a) “Do you have astigmatism?”
b) “Do you think the lenses were improperly fit?”
c) “Why did you stop wearing them?”
d) “Do you have dry eyes?”
c) Answers a and d are not bad questions, but they are not the best. Answer b could imply
a judgment on the patient’s past care, which is not ethical as it calls into question the competency of another practitioner.
A 76-year-old new patient tells you that he caught astigmatism from his brother when
they were both children. You should:
a) tell him he is wrong because astigmatism is not a disease
b) agree with him because astigmatism can run in families
c) ask him what he means by “astigmatism”
d) explain that astigmatism is a refractive error
c) The patient obviously has a misconception about the origin of astigmatism, or he may
have misapplied the term to some type of infection. Ask him.
Knowledge of a past ocular injury is needed because:
a) it might help explain current complaints and findings
b) it might indicate a reason why the patient’s vision should not be checked
c) it might indicate the reason for an allergy to eye drops
d) a careless, accident-prone patient is likely to be noncompliant
a) A patient’s current problems may stem from past injury (such as recurrent erosion syndrome).
The patient states she has prism in her glasses. Which of the following is the most
important question to ask?
a) “Have you ever had surgery to straighten your eyes?”
b) “Does anyone in your family have a lazy eye?”
c) “Have you recently tried glasses without prism?”
d) “Were you dilated during your last eye exam?”
a) Prism is usually prescribed to overcome motility disorders; hence, asking about surgery to straighten the eyes is in order.
A mother brings in her 4-year-old son. The mother says he has a lazy eye. What do
you need to find out?
a) Was the birth premature?
b) Who else in the family has a lazy eye?
c) Does the child rub one eye frequently?
d) What does she mean by “lazy eye?”
d) What does the mother mean by “lazy eye”? She may mean an eye that “looks weak” or
crosses. Or, she might mean amblyopia. Answers b and c are good, but are not key. Answer a is mostly irrelevant in this case.
An example of a systemic illness is:
a) Down syndrome
b) senility
c) past surgical procedures
d) cardiac problems
d) “Cardiac problems” is the only systemic illness listed. Down syndrome may have systemic effects, but it is a genetic condition, not an illness.