CPOA Clinical Procedures 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A patient reports haloes around lights after instillation of which class of drops?
- Topical anesthetics
- Mydriatic agents (Correct answer)
- Topical antibiotics
- Artificial tears
Correct answer: Mydriatic agents
Mydriatic drops dilate the pupil, causing patients to notice haloes and glare around lights due to increased light entering through the peripheral lens.
Question 2: The Amsler grid is used to detect scotomas or distortion associated with disease of the:
- Optic nerve head
- Peripheral retina
- Macular area (Correct answer)
- Corneal epithelium
Correct answer: Macular area
The Amsler grid detects distortion (metamorphopsia) or missing areas (scotomas) caused by macular conditions such as AMD.
Question 3: When instilling eye drops, the drop should be placed into the:
- Center of the cornea
- Outer canthus
- Lower conjunctival fornix (cul-de-sac) (Correct answer)
- Upper eyelid margin
Correct answer: Lower conjunctival fornix (cul-de-sac)
Drops are instilled into the lower conjunctival fornix to minimize corneal contact, reduce reflex tearing, and allow proper absorption.
Question 4: Stereopsis testing with the Randot or TNO stereotest measures:
- Color discrimination
- Contrast sensitivity
- Depth perception from binocular disparity (Correct answer)
- Pupil reaction speed
Correct answer: Depth perception from binocular disparity
Stereotests measure stereoacuity, the ability to perceive depth based on horizontal disparity between the images seen by each eye.
Question 5: Which solution is used to assess the cornea for abrasions or defects during a slit-lamp exam?
- Rose bengal
- Sodium fluorescein (Correct answer)
- Lissamine green
- Methylene blue
Correct answer: Sodium fluorescein
Sodium fluorescein stains areas where the corneal epithelium is disrupted and fluoresces green under cobalt blue light.
Question 6: When assessing extraocular muscle function, the cardinal positions of gaze test how many muscle pairs?
- 3
- 4
- 6 (Correct answer)
- 8
Correct answer: 6
The six cardinal positions of gaze (up-right, right, down-right, down-left, left, up-left) each isolate one primary-action muscle pair to test all six extraocular muscles.
Question 7: What is the purpose of the red reflex test performed with a direct ophthalmoscope?
- To measure refractive error
- To screen for opacities in the ocular media (Correct answer)
- To assess retinal blood vessels
- To test pupil constriction
Correct answer: To screen for opacities in the ocular media
A bright, symmetric red reflex indicates clear ocular media; a dull, absent, or asymmetric reflex suggests cataract, vitreous opacity, or retinoblastoma.
CPOA Clinical Procedures 4
A patient reports haloes around lights after instillation of which class of drops?