SUSIEG 2015 Flashcards
A patient has undergone surgery and subsequent immobilization to stabilize the olecranon process. The patient now exhibits an elbow flexion contracture. In this case, an absolute CONTRAINDICATION for joint mobilization would be:
a. Empty end-feel
b. Soft end-feel
c. Springy end-feel
d. Firm end-feel
Correct Answer: A
An empty end-feel (no real end-feel) may be indicative of severe pain and muscle guarding associated with pathological conditions
A PT is instructing a student in proper positioning to prevent the typical contractures in a patient with a transfemoral amputation. The PT stresses positioning the patient in:
a. Side-lying on the residual limb
b. A wheelchair with a gel cushion and adductor roll
c. Prone-lying with the residual limb in neutral rotation
d. Supine-lying with the residual limb
resting on a small pillow
Correct Answer: C
The typical contractures with a transfemoral amputation are hip flexion (typically from too much sitting in a wheelchair). The residual limb also rolls out into abduction and external rotation. When in bed, hip extension should be emphasized (e.g., prone-lying). When sitting in the wheelchair, neutral hip rotation should be emphasized (e.g., using an abductor roll). Time in extension (prone, supine, or standing) should counterbalance time sitting in a wheelchair
In treating a patient with a diagnosis of right shoulder impingement syndrome, the FIRST intervention the PT should consider is to:
a. Instruct the patient in proper postural alignment
b. Complete AROM in all shoulder
motions
c. Implement a stretching program for the shoulder girdle musculature
d. Modulate all pain
Correct Answer: A
Without regaining normal postural alignment and scapular-humeral rhythm, the patient will continue to impinge the supraspinatus and/or biceps tendon at the acromion and never regain normal function of the shoulder
A patient with Parkinson’s disease (PD)
demonstrates a highly stereotyped gait pattern characterized by impoverished movement and a festinating gait. The intervention that would be MOST beneficial to use with this patient is:
a. Locomotor training using a motorized treadmill and body weight support harness
b. Braiding with light touch-down support of hands
c. Standing and reaching with a body weight support harness
d. Locomotor training using a rolling walker
Correct Answer: A
The patient with PD typically presents with postural deficits of forward head and trunk, with hip and knee flexion contractures. Gait is narrow-based and shuffling. A festinating gait typically results from persistent forward posturing of the body near the forward limits of stability. Task-specific training using body weight support and treadmill training (BWSTT) is the best choice
A patient is experiencing sensory changes secondary to left CVA. Upon testing, the patient is unable to detect pin prick or temperature in the right hand, leading to disuse and increased safety risk. These changes are BEST documented as “Patient is experiencing”:
a. Allodynia
b. Abarognosis
c. Anesthesia
d. Analgesia
Correct Answer: D
Analgesia refers to a complete loss of pain sensibility (in this case).
A patient is on the cardiac unit following admission for CHF and a history of an MI.
The patient is currently compensated by pharmacological management and is comfortable, alert and oriented at rest with a normal HR and BP. The telemetric
ECG depicts the rhythm shown in the figure. The PT’s appropriate interpretation and action is: (PICTURE)
a. ST segment depression; alert emergency medical personnel
b. Ventricular tachycardia; alert emergency medical personnel
c. Normal sinus rhythm; continue to monitor during activity progression
d. ST segment depression; check medical record for baseline ECG
Correct Answer: D
The ECG shows ST segment depression. If ST segment depression is present during comfortable, stable rest in a patient with a history of an MI, it likely represents the presence of a nontransmural MI and is the patient’s baseline ECG. However, this should be confirmed to rule out silent ischemia
A 14-year-old girl complains of subpatellar pain after participation in an aerobic exercise program for 2 weeks.
The PT’s examination shows a large Q angle, pain with palpation at the inferior pole of the patella and mild swelling at both knees. The BEST intervention for this situation is:
a. Hamstring strengthening
b. Vastus medialis (VM) muscle strengthening
c. Vastus lateralis (VL) strengthening
d. Taping to increase lateral patellar tracking
Correct Answer: B
Q angles of greater than 15° could be indicative of abnormal lateral patellar tracking. VM muscle strengthening can reduce the tendency for the patella to track laterally.
A patient is referred to a physical therapist with a diagnosis of Bell’s palsy. Which cluster of examination findings below would the PT expect to find?
a. Decreased sensation to the forehead, cheek and jaw; absence of a gag reflex; and deviation of the tongue to one side
b. Posis, weakness in the temporalis and masseter muscles and deviation of the tongue to one side
c. Ptosis, decreased abduction of the eye and excessive tearing
d. Decreased closure of one eye, drooping of the mouth, and inability to raise the eyebrow
Correct Answer: D
Decreased function of the facial nerve (cranial nerve VIl) is associated with motor weakness of the muscles of facial expression, which could result in a decreased ability to close the eye tightly, raise the eyebrow, and raise the corner of the mouth as in a smile. Other functions of the facial nerve include taste to the anterior tongue, tearing, salivation, and dampening sound.
The cardiac rehabilitation team is conducting education classes for a group of patients. The focus is on risk factor reduction and successful lifestyle modification. A participant asks the PT to help interpret cholesterol findings. Total cholesterol is 220 mg/dL, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol is 24 mg/dL and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is 160 mg/dL. Analysis of these values reveals:
a. The levels of HDL, LDL and total cholesterol are all abnormally low
b. LDL and HDL cholesterol levels are within normal limits, and total cholesterol should be below 200 ma/dL
c. The levels of HDL, LDL and total cholesterol are all abnormally high
d. The levels of LDL and total cholesterol are abnormally high, and HDL is abnormally low
Correct Answer: D
Increased total blood cholesterol levels (>
200 mg/dL) and levels of LDLs (>130 mg/dL) increase the risk of coronary artery disease
(CAD); conversely, low concentrations of HDLs (<40 mg/dL for men and <50mg/dL for women) are also harmful. The link between
CAD and triglycerides is not as clear.
An elderly patient is being treated for depression following the death of her husband. She is currently taking a tricyclic antidepressant medication (amitriptyline) and has a recent history of a fall. The PT suspects the precipitating cause of the fall is the medication because it can cause:
a. Hyperalertness
b. Postural hypotension
c. Dyspnea
d. Hypertension
Correct Answer: B
Most tricyclic antidepressants have significant anticholinergic and sedative properties and may cause lethargy, sedation, arrhythmias, hypotension and blurred vision, thus increasing fall risk. The elderly are particularly susceptible to adverse drug effects because of a multitude of factors
11.As the result of blunt trauma to the quadriceps femoris muscle, a patient experiences loss of knee function. The BEST choice for early physical therapy intervention is:
a. Gentle AROM exercises in weight bearing
b. Aggressive soft tissue stretching to remove blood that has accumulated in soft tissues
c. Aggressive open-chain strengthening of the quadriceps femoris to regain normal lower extremity strength
d. Gentle PROM exercises in non-weight bearing to regain normal knee motion
Correct Answer: A
Gentle weight-bearing AROM exercises to patient’s tolerance will minimize the chance of myositis ossificans and promote improved function.
A patient with active tuberculosis (TB) is referred for physical therapy. The patient has been hospitalized and on appropriate antituberculin drugs for 3 weeks. During treatment, what precautions should the therapist observe?
a. The patient must be treated in a private, negative-pressured room
b.The therapist must wear personal protective equipment at all times
C.The patient can be treated in the PT gym, without precautions
d. The patient must wear a tight fitting mask at all times
Correct Answer: C
Primary disease lasts approximately 10 days to 2 weeks. Two weeks on appropriate antituberculin drugs renders the host noninfectious. The patient can be safely treated in the PT gym without precautions. Medication is taken for prolonged periods (9-12 months).
With a traction injury to the anterior division of the brachial plexus, the PT would expect to see weakness of the elbow flexors, wrist flexors, and forearm pronators. The PT would also expect to find additional weakness in:
a. Wrist extension
b. Thumb abduction
c. Forearm supination
d. Lateral rotation of the shoulder
Correct Answer: B
Thumb abductors are innervated by the median nerve, primarily by the C6 nerve root.
The anterior divisions contribute to the nerves that primarily serve flexors and, in this case, the thumb.
A patient complains of right buttock pain after slipping. The right hip had been forced into internal rotation. Lumbar active motion testing is full and pain free. Neurological findings are unremarkable.
S1 provocation testing is unremarkable.
Passive hip internal rotation is limited with pain and pulling noted in the right buttock region. Resisted external rotation produces pain in the same region. Based on these finding, the MOST LIKELY diagnosis would be:
a. Piriformis strain
b. Quadratus lumborum strain
c. Lumbar disc herniation at L5/S1
d. Sacroiliac sprain/strain
Correct Answer: A
Forceful hio internal rotation would overstretch and potentially strain the piriformis muscle. Limited passive hip internal rotation would reproduce symptoms from a tight or tense piriformis. Pain with resisted external rotation would suggest a contractile problem with the piriformis.
A patient with MS demonstrates strong bilateral lower extremity extensor spasticity in the typical distribution of antigravity muscles. This patient would be expected to demonstrate:
a. Skin breakdown on the ischial tuberosities and lateral malleoli
b. Sitting with both hips abducted and externally rotated
c. Sacral sitting with increased extension and adduction of lower extremities
d. Sitting with the pelvis lateraly tilted and both lower extremities in windswept position
Correct Answer: C
Spasticity is typically strong in antigravity muscles. In the lower extremities, this is usually the hip and knee extensors, adductors, and plantarflexors: Strong extensor tone results in sacral sitting with the pelvis tilted posteriorly. This results in a rounded upper spine (kyphotic) and forward head.
16.A computer programmer with no significant past medical history presents to the emergency room with complaints of fever, shaking chills, and a worsening productive cough. Complaints of chest pain over the posterior base of the left thorax are made worse on inspiration. An anteroposterior x-ray shows an infiltrate on the lower left thorax at the posterior base. This patient’s chest pain is MOST LIKELY caused by:
a. Inflamed tracheobronchial tree
b. Angina
c. Trauma to the chest
d. Infected pleura
Correct Answer: D
The case is supportive of a pulmonary process as evidenced by radiography and history. Because the radiographic findings and the pain are in the same vicinity and worsen with inspiration, the likelihood is that this pain is pleuritic in origin.
The posture of a patient’s forefoot is an inverted position relative to the rearfoot while in subtalar neutral. What is the PT’s BEST choice to document this finding?
a. Forefoot varus
b. Medial column equinus
c. Metatarsus abductus
d. Forefoot valgus
Correct Answer: A
When observing the position of plantar aspect of the forefoot relative to the neutral posture of the rearfoot (subtalar neutral), an inverted forefoot is described as a forefoot varus.
- During a sensory examination, a patient complains of a dull, aching pain and is not able to discriminate a stimulus as sharp or dull. Two-point discrimination is absent. Based on these findings, the pathway that is intact is the:
a. Dorsal columns/neospinothalamic svstems
b. Anterior spinothalamic tract
c. Fasciculus gracilis/medial lemniscus
d. Lateral spinothalamic tract
Correct Answer: B
Sensations interpreted as dull, aching pain travel in the anterior (paleo) spinothalamic tract.
A patient is hospitalized in an intensive care unit following a traumatic SCI resulting in C3 tetraplegia (ASIA A). the patient is receiving endotracheal suctioning, following development of significant pulmonary congestion. The recommended time duration for endotracheal suctioning is:
a. 1-5 seconds
b. 10-15 seconds
c. 5-10 seconds
d. 15-20 seconds
Correct Answer: B
The recommended time duration for endotracheal suctioning is 10-15 seconds.
A patient presents with pronounced muscle weakness and wasting in the lower extremities, hypertension and a moon-shaped face with truncal obesity.
The PT recognizes these symptoms as characteristic of:
a. Hypoparathyroidism
b. Type II diabetes
c. Addison’s disease
d. Cushing’s syndrome
Correct Answer: D
Cushing’s syndrome causes a variety of signs and symptoms including hypoglycemia, hypokalemia, hypertension, muscle weakness, and wasting. Abnormal fat distribution (moon-shaped face, truncal, or central obesity) is a visible clinical feature.
During which phases of the gait cycle would a PT expect to observe an everted posture of the calcaneus?
a. Terminal stance (heel-off) to preswing (toe-off)
b. Initial swing (acceleration) through midswing
c. From midstance through heel-off (toe-off)
d. From initial contact (heel strike) through loading response (foot-flat).
Correct Answer: D
Calcaneal eversion is a component of the triplanar motion described as rearfoot pronation. During the gait cycle, rearfoot pronation, caused by normal ground reaction forces, occurs from initial contact (heel strike) through loading response (foot-flat)
A patient with right hemiparesis has difficulty clearing the more affected foot during the swing phase of gait. An appropriate physical therapy intervention for the right lower extremity might include:
a. Pushing backward while sitting on a rolling stool
b. Sitting on a therapy ball, alternating lateral side steps and back to neutral
c. Assumption of bridging
d. Forward step-ups in standing, using graduate height steps
Correct Answer: D
Decreased foot clearance during swing may result from weak hip and knee flexors or from a drop foot (weak dorsiflexors or spastic plantarflexors). Step-ups represent the best choice to functionally strengthen the hip and knee flexion using task-specific training.
A researcher reviewed current literature related to moderate exercise for maintaining independence without accelerating disease progression in persons with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The search yielded nine studies:
two clinical case reports, two cohort studies, three single randomized controlled trials (RCT’s) and two multicenter RCT’s. According to levels of evidence, which studies provide the BEST evidence for support of exercise in persons with ALS?
a. Case series without controls
b. Multicenter RCTs
c. Single-center RCTs
d. Cohort/comparison studies
Correct Answer: B
According to recognized Levels of Evidence, multicenter RCTs (level I RCT) provide the best evidence
A sports PT is working with a local high school football team. During the game, a player is tackled violently and incurs a blow to the head. The PT determines that the player is unresponsive with normal respirations. The IMMEDIATE course of action should be to:
a. Stabilize the neck, and flip back the helmet face mask
b. Use the chin-lift method to improve
the airway
c. Summon Emergency Medical Services
d. Ask for help to log-roll the player onto his back, while stabilizing his neck
Summon Emergency Medical Services