Clinical Assessment Methods Flashcards

Which slit lamp illumination technique is best for detecting cells and flare in the anterior chamber?

Answer: Conical beam (small, bright beam in a dark room)

A short, narrow, high-intensity beam angled through the dark anterior chamber shows cells and flare through the Tyndall effect.

Fluorescein dye staining of the cornea viewed under cobalt blue light is used primarily to detect:

Answer: Epithelial defects

Fluorescein pools in areas of missing epithelium and glows green under cobalt blue light.

A Seidel test is performed to detect:

Answer: A wound leak of aqueous humor

Concentrated fluorescein becomes diluted by leaking aqueous, showing a bright green stream at the leak site.

A Schirmer I test performed without anesthetic measures:

Answer: Basal plus reflex tear secretion

Without anesthesia, the filter strip irritates the eye and measures both basal and reflex tearing.

In a Schirmer I test, wetting of less than how many millimeters in 5 minutes generally suggests aqueous tear deficiency?

Answer: 5 mm

Wetting under about 5 mm in 5 minutes is generally considered abnormal and consistent with dry eye.

A tear film breakup time of less than 10 seconds suggests:

Answer: Evaporative tear film instability

Rapid breakup (<10 seconds) indicates an unstable tear film, often from meibomian gland dysfunction.

Corneal sensation is commonly assessed by which method?

Answer: Cotton wisp or Cochet-Bonnet esthesiometer

A cotton wisp or Cochet-Bonnet esthesiometer touches the cornea to assess trigeminal sensory function.