COT Patient History and Ophthalmic Examination Techniques 5

Question 1

When recording pupil reactions in a patient's chart, 'PERRL' means:

Accepted Answer

Pupils Equal, Round, Reactive to Light

Answer

PERRL stands for Pupils Equal, Round, and Reactive to Light, and is a standard notation confirming normal direct and consensual pupillary light responses.

Question 2

A patient taking tamsulosin (Flomax) for benign prostatic hyperplasia is scheduled for cataract surgery. The technician should flag this history because of the risk of:

Accepted Answer

Intraoperative floppy iris syndrome (IFIS)

Answer

Alpha-1 adrenergic antagonists like tamsulosin cause intraoperative floppy iris syndrome, where the iris billows and prolapses, significantly complicating cataract surgery.

Question 3

The Amsler grid is primarily used to detect defects in which area of the visual field?

Accepted Answer

Central 20 degrees of vision, particularly the macula

Answer

The Amsler grid tests the central 20 degrees of vision and is most sensitive for detecting metamorphopsia and scotomas caused by macular disease.

Question 4

During cover-uncover testing, the examiner observes that the uncovered eye moves to pick up fixation when the other eye is covered. This finding indicates:

Accepted Answer

A tropia (manifest strabismus)

Answer

Movement of the uncovered eye during the cover-uncover test indicates that it was not fixing on the target, confirming a manifest deviation (tropia).

Question 5

A patient presents with a red eye and purulent discharge since waking. The most important historical question to help differentiate bacterial from viral conjunctivitis is:

Accepted Answer

Is there a recent history of upper respiratory infection or exposure to a person with similar symptoms?

Answer

Viral conjunctivitis is often associated with a preceding upper respiratory infection or sick contact, while bacterial conjunctivitis typically presents with mucopurulent discharge without these associations.

COT - Certified Ophthalmic Technician Practice Test

COT - Certified Ophthalmic Technician Practice Test

COT Patient History and Ophthalmic Examination Techniques 5