Neurological Flashcards
When collecting subjective data regarding neurological, what should be asked regarding:
- Headaches
- Head injury
- Headache: Unusually frequent/severe headaches
- Head injury: Have they any head injuries; describe them
When collecting subjective data regarding neurological, what should be asked regarding:
- Dizziness/vertigo
- Seizures
- Dizziness/vertigo: ever feel lightheaded?;
Swimming sensation/faint
- Seizures: Ever/when did they start;
How often?
When collecting subjective data, what are these types of tremors:
- Intention tremor
- Resting tremor
- Intention tremor= Shakes when person moves towards direction (finger to nose)
- Resting tremor= Shakes when resting
When collecting subjective data, what is:
- Muscular weakness caused by nerve damage
- Loss of muscle function by nerve damage
- Paresis
- Paralysis
What are the medical terms for:
- Incoordination
- Involuntary movements
- Incoordination= Dysmetria
- Involuntary movements= Dyskinesia
What are the medical terms for:
- Numbness/tingling
- Difficulty swallowing
- Numbness/tingling= Paresthesia
- Difficulty swallowing= Dysphagia
What is the medical term for:
Difficulty speaking
Aphasia
What are 10 warning signs of Alzheimer’s?
Don’t memorize, just recognize and know
- Memory loss
- Losing track
- Forgetting words
- Getting lost
- Poor judgment
- Abstract failing
- Losing things
- Mood swings
- Personality changes
- Growing passive
What do these tests assess:
Gait
Tandem Walking
Cerebella function; balance
What do these tests assess:
- Romberg’s test
- Shallow knee bend
Cerebellar function; balance
What do these tests assess:
- Rapid alternating movement
- Finger-to-finger
- finger-to-nose
- Heel to shin
Cerebellar function; Coordination
When collecting objective data, what indicates normal sensory system function?
Person is alert and cooperative
Patients demonstrate these with normal function of these sensory tracts:
- Spinothalamic
- Posterior Column Tract
Spinothalamic
- pain
- temperature
- light touch
Posterior column tract
- Vibration
- Position
When assessing level of consciousness, what do you check?
- Alert
- Awake
- Orientation
What important tests can be performed during a physical exam to assess neurological function?
- Level of consciousness
- PERRLA
- Vital Signs
- Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS)
What are the differences in:
- Delirium
- Dementia
Delirium= Has cause; short term
Dementia= Usually age related; chronic
When assessing level of consciousness, what is;
- Alertness
- Awakeness
- Alert: Responds to stimulus (walking in room/questions)
- Awake: How much stimulus is needed to keep them awake
When assessing level of consciousness, what should be checked for orientation?
- What does AAOx3 mean?
- Person (who are they)
- Place (where are they/why)
- Time (what day/time is it)
AAOx3= oriented to person, place, and time
What two tests assess peripheral strength (motor function)?
Hands= Finger grips
Feet= Pedal pushes
Be familiar with this:
Just know what it is
how it works
what is assesses for (brain injury)
How do strokes damage the nervous system?
Damage upper motor neurons that convey impulses from brain to spinal cord.
Ischemic stroke
- What is it?
- What are some signs?
Occlusion that blocks blood flow to the brain.
SIgns= facial droop, unilateral weakness, confusion
Hemorrhagic stroke
- What is it?
- What are some signs?
Rupture of artery in brain
Signs:
- Severe headache,
- nausea,
- loss of consciousness,
- seizures
