Patient Assessment & Clinical Evaluation Flashcards
7 cards from real CHT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Patient Assessment & Clinical Evaluation flashcards as text
A patient with a history of seizure disorder is being considered for HBO therapy. Which factor is MOST important in determining treatment safety?
Answer: Duration of seizure-free interval and adequacy of anticonvulsant therapy
Well-controlled seizure disorders may be compatible with HBO if seizure-free on adequate medication, but poorly controlled epilepsy is a relative contraindication due to CNS O2 toxicity risk.
During assessment of a patient with crush injury, which laboratory value is MOST relevant for evaluating compartment syndrome risk alongside HBO treatment planning?
Answer: Serum creatine kinase (CK)
Elevated CK indicates muscle breakdown (rhabdomyolysis) associated with crush injury, informing the severity of injury and guiding HBO adjunct treatment decisions.
A patient with COPD and a baseline SpO2 of 88% on room air is referred for HBO. The key clinical concern specific to this patient population is:
Answer: Risk of oxygen-induced hypercapnia due to hypoxic drive suppression
Some COPD patients depend on hypoxic drive to breathe; high-flow O2 during HBO may suppress this drive and cause CO2 retention.
When evaluating a patient for radiation-induced soft tissue necrosis (osteoradionecrosis), which imaging study BEST guides HBO treatment planning by demonstrating devascularized bone?
Answer: Technetium-99m bone scan
Technetium bone scanning detects areas of reduced perfusion in irradiated bone, confirming the hypovascular necrosis that HBO targets.
Which skin finding on pre-treatment assessment would be MOST consistent with arterial insufficiency contributing to a chronic wound?
Answer: Hairless, shiny, cool skin with dependent rubor and absent pedal pulses
Hairless, shiny, cool skin with rubor on dependency and absent pulses are classic signs of peripheral arterial disease causing tissue ischemia.
A post-treatment assessment reveals that a patient experienced tinnitus and muffled hearing after their first HBO session. The technician should document this as likely:
Answer: Middle ear barotrauma (otic barotrauma)
Tinnitus and muffled hearing after a dive are hallmark symptoms of middle ear barotrauma caused by inadequate pressure equalization.
Which nutritional assessment finding would MOST impair wound healing and reduce HBO therapy effectiveness in a patient with a chronic ulcer?
Answer: Serum albumin of 2.0 g/dL indicating severe protein malnutrition
Severe hypoalbuminemia (albumin <2.5 g/dL) indicates significant protein malnutrition, which impairs collagen synthesis and defeats the wound-healing goals of HBO therapy.