Clinical Medicine & Patient Safety Flashcards

What does the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) assess?

Answer: Level of consciousness via eye, verbal, and motor responses

The GCS assesses level of consciousness by evaluating three domains: eye opening (4), verbal response (5), and motor response (6), with a maximum score of 15 indicating full consciousness.

Normal oxygen saturation (SpO2) in a healthy adult is:

Answer: 95–100%

Normal SpO2 in a healthy adult breathing room air is 95–100%; values below 94% indicate hypoxemia requiring clinical assessment and possible oxygen supplementation.

A patient in respiratory distress is using accessory muscles. This indicates:

Answer: Increased work of breathing

Use of accessory muscles (sternocleidomastoid, scalenes, intercostals) during breathing indicates increased respiratory effort due to airway obstruction, reduced lung compliance, or respiratory fatigue.

Pain assessment in non-verbal or cognitively impaired patients should use:

Answer: Behavioral pain observation scales (e.g., PAINAD, FLACC)

Behavioral pain assessment tools such as PAINAD (for dementia) or FLACC (for children) evaluate observable indicators of pain (facial expression, body movement, crying) in patients unable to self-report.

The WHO Surgical Safety Checklist includes a 'Sign In' phase that must be completed:

Answer: Before induction of anesthesia

The 'Sign In' phase of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist is completed before induction of anesthesia to confirm patient identity, site, consent, and anesthesia safety checks.

Pressure ulcers most commonly develop over which anatomical area in bedridden patients?

Answer: Sacrum and heels

The sacrum and heels are the most common sites for pressure ulcers in bedridden patients due to high-pressure bony prominences with limited soft tissue padding in supine positions.