Mental health Flashcards
Mental status assessment: A-B-C-T
- Appearance
- Behavior
- Cognition
- Thought processes
When to perform a full Mental Status Examination? 5
- Initial screening suggests anxiety or depression disorder
- Behavior changes
- Brain lesions
- Aphasia
- Symptoms of psychiatric mental illness
Developmental Competence-Aging adults
- Older adulthood contains more potential for losses
- These losses affect mental status and can result in is ability disorientation or depression
- Chronic diseases such as heart failure, cancer, diabetes, and osteoporosis include fear of loss of life
What is a MMSE?
Mini-mental state examination
- From 0 to 30 range
- Any score 25 or higher considered to be intact (normal)
- 21 to 24 indicate mild cognitive impairment
- 0 to 17 indicates severe cognitive impairment
Mental status examination can be assessed directly like the characteristics of skin or heart sounds.
True or False?
False
Aging Adults
What we must do before assessing mental states?
Check sensory status, vision, and hearing before any aspect of mental status
- Vision and hearing changes due to aging may alter alertness and leave the person looking confused
- Vision and hearing changes may affect testing results
-Confusion is common and is easily misdiagnosed
Impacts of losses - social isolation, job, change in residence, or some short-term memory loss – can affect mental status examination
What are the basic functions should the nurse test first in an assessment of mental status?
Consciousness
Dementia is a state of a)__________ and b)________ loss related to brain disease most commonly Alzheimer’s disease.
a) cognitive impairment
b) short term memory
Delirium is a temporary state of a)__________ usually related to another medical condition
Confusion
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
a) ____ pairs of cranial nerves
b) ____ pairs of spinal nerves
a) 12
b) 31
Afferent (stimulus) messages from sensory receptors to CNS
Efferent (response) messages from CNS to sensory receptors
Sympathetic nervous system starts in the a)__________.
Response for b)________
Peripheral Nervous System starts either c)________ or at the d)________.
Response for e)________
a) middle of spinal cord
b) FIGHT OR FLIGHT
c) brain stem
d) bottom of the spinal cord
e) rest and digest
- Sensory
- Sensory
- Motor
- Motor
- Both
- Motor
- Both
- Sensory
- Both
- Both
- Motor
- Motor
Cerebral cortex?
Frontal lobe?
Parietal lobe?
Occipital lobe?
Temporal lode?
Wernicke’s area?
Broca’s area?
Cerebellum?
- *Cerebral cortex**: outer layer of nerve cells
- *Frontal lobe:** personality, Behavior, Emotion,
- *Parietal lobe:** Sensation
- *Occipital lobe**: Visual reception
- *Temporal lode**: auditory function
- *Wernicke’s area**: Language comprehension (receptive aphasia)
- *Broca’s area:** Mediates motor speech expressive aphasia results
- *Cerebellum**: Motor coordination of voluntary movements, equilibrium, and muscle tone.
Thalamus?
Hypothalamus?
Pituitary gland?
Basal ganglia?
Brainstem?
Midbrain?
Pons?
Medulla?
Spinal cord?
Thalamus
-Sensory pathways of spinal cord, cerebellum, and brain stem form synapses
Hypothalamus
-Major control center for resp, temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, stress response, emotional status.
Pituitary gland
-Regulation, and coordination of autonomic nervous system
Basal ganglia
-Initiate and coordinate automatic associated movements of the body/legs move during walking.
Brainstem
-Central core of brain consists of nerve fibers
Midbrain
-Contains many motor neurons and tracts
Pons
-Enlarged area containing ascending sensory and descending motor tracts
Medulla
-Continuation of spinal cord in brain; contains all fiber tracts connecting brain and spinal cord
Spinal cord
-Occupies upper two-thirds of vertebral canal from medulla to lumbar vertebrae L1 to L2
Cranial nerves
Enter and exit a)__________ rather than b)________
c)__ pairs of cranial nerves supply primarily head and neck, except d)________, which travels to heart, respiratory muscles, stomach, and gallbladder
a) brain
b) spinal cord
c) 12
d) vagus nerve
CN I and II
Extend from a)_________
Cranial nerves III to XII
Extend from b)________
a) cerebrum
b) brain stem
a)___ pairs of spinal nerves
How many each?
Cervical
Thoracic
Lumbar
Sacral
Coccygeal
a) 31
b) 8
c) 12
d) 5
e) 5
f) 1
Reflexes are basic a)__________ mechanisms of the nervous system
Four types of reflexes?
a) defense
- Deep tendon reflexes (ex: knee jerk)
- Superficial (corneal reflex)
- Visceral (pupillary response to light)
- Pathologic (abnormal) (Babinski’s or Planter reflex)
Involuntary muscles are mainly controlled by the a)_______ nervous system
The b)________ nervous system, associated with the voluntary
a) autonomic
b) somaticc
Kenn jerk
a) Where to hit?
b) What response should occur?
The c)________ fiber carry the message from the receptor and travel through the d)________ into the spinal cord.
They synapse directly in the cord with the motor neuron in the e)________ .
f)__________ fibers leave via the g)__________and travel to the muscle, stimulating a sudden contraction
a) Right below the knee cap(tendon)
b) Leg will kick out(involuntary response-muscle)
c) sensory afferent
d) dorsal root
e)anterior horn
f) Motor efferent
g) ventral root
Health history question
Headache
Any unusually frequent or severe headaches?
A pt who says, “this is the worse HA of my life”
—needs emergency referral to screen cerebrovascular cause
Health history question
Head injury
Ever had any head injuries? Please describe.
Did you have a loss of consciousness?
Health history question
Syncope
Sudden loss of strength?
LOC (a faint), due to lack of cerebral blood flow (low BP)
Health history question
Weakness
Any weakness or problem moving any body part?
Is this generalized or local?
Syncope?
Sudden loss of strength, due to lack of blood flow to the cerebral blood flow (low BP)
Fainting, or a sudden temporary loss of consciousness
Vertigo?
Rotational sinning is caused by neurological disorders, inner ear problems, brain stem problems
Room spins (obj vertigo), you spin (sub vertigo)
Difference between vertigo and dizziness?
Vertigo is always due to a neurological problem,
Dizziness may have many causes and is less specific.
-inner ear disturbance, motion sickness and medication effects etc
Health history question
Seizures
Ever had any convulsions?
When did they start? How often do they occur?
Occurs with epilepsy
Involuntary muscle movement or sensory disturbance
Health history question
Tremors
Any shakes or tremors in the hands or face?
When did these start?
Does it get worse with anxiety, alcohol, gets better with rest?
Do they affect daily activities?
Involuntary shaking, vibrating, trembling
Paralysis
Loss of a)__________ function due to a lesion in b)________ or c)________ system or loss of d)________
a) motor
b) neurologic
c) muscular
d) snsory innervationse
Health question
Incoordination
Any problem with coordination?
Any problem with balance when walking?
Do you list to one side?
Any history of fall?
Do your legs seem to give way?
Health question
Difficulty swallowing/Dysphagia
Any problem swallowing?
Does it occur with solids or liquids?
Have you experienced excessive saliva, drooling?
Dysarthria is a)__________ in which the muscles that are used to b)________ are damaged, paralyzed, or weakened.
diff forming words
A)motor speech disorder
B)produce speech
Expressive dysphasia is a difficulty in expressing )__________
They b)________ the launguage, but hard to c)________
a) what you want to say
b) understand
c) produce
Receptive dysphasia?
difficulty in putting words together to make meaning
Equipment needed for the NEUROLOGICAL ASSESSMENT 6
Tongue blade
Cotton swab
Tuning fork
Percussion hammer
Penlight
Occasionally need: familiar aromatic substance
CN1 to CN6 function and how to assses
- *CN1:** small, check nasal patency first.
- *CN2:** visual acuity using Snellen’s Chart
- *CN3, 4, 6:** Pupil size, direct & consensual response, EOM by the 6 cardinal positions of gaze
- *CN5:** Assess muscle of mastication as person clenches the teeth, should feel equally strong on both sides-eyes closes, light touch sensation by touching a cotton wisp on person’s forehead, cheeks, and chin
CN7 to CN12
- *CN7:** facial symmetry as person respond to frown, smile, puff cheeks, lift eyebrows, show teeth—a sense of taste by applying something on the tongue
- *CN8:** one ear at a time, cover other ear by placing a finger over the tragus, shield your lips to prevent lip reading, 1-2 feet distance, whisper slowly a set of 3 random letters and numbers and ask the person to repeat it, assess other ear using yet another set of items, a passing score is correct repeating of at least 3 out of a possible 6 numbers and letters
- *CN 9 &10:** ask the person to yawn or say ahhh and see uvula and soft palate rise in the midline, touch posterior pharynx with a tongue blade to check for the gag reflex, don’t check it
- *CN11:** examine neck and shoulder muscles by asking the person to shrug the shoulders against resistance and the movement should feel equally strong on both sides.
- *CN12:** ask the person to stck out tongue, inspect the tongue, should be midline, no wasting, tremors…
Testing a motored system
- *Hand grip**
- offer your two fingers, one on top of the other, so that a strong hand grasp does not hurt your knuckles.
Gait
-observe person walk 10 to 20 feet, turn and returns to starting point
Tandem walking
-ask person to walk in a straight line in a heel-to-toe fashion
- *Romberg’s test**
- ask person to stand up with feet together and arms at side;
- once in a stable position,close eyes and hold that position
- wait 20 seconds
- Normally a person should maintain the posture, slight swaying may occur, stay close to catch the person in case he or she falls.
Coordination and Skilled Movements
- *Rapid alternating movement**
- Patting the knees with both hands, turn hands over and pat the knees with the backs of the hands
- Should be equal turning and a quick rhythmic pace
- *-Finger-to-finger test**
- With the person’s eyes open, ask that he or she use the index finger to touch your finger,
- then his or her own nose. After a few times, move your finger to a different spot.
- The person’s movement should be smooth and accurate
- *Finger-to-nose test**
- Asking the person to close the eyes and to stretch out the arms
- T touch the tip of his or her nose with each index finger