Practice Test GeeksNIHSS - National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale Practice Test
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Visual Field Testing Flashcards

7 cards from real NIHSS practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Visual Field Testing flashcards as text

  1. A patient has a right homonymous hemianopia detected during NIHSS visual field testing. What score does the examiner assign?

    Answer: 1

    Partial visual field loss including hemianopia in one hemifield scores 1 on NIHSS item 3.

  2. During confrontation testing for NIHSS item 3, the patient correctly identifies finger movement only in the upper visual fields bilaterally. Lower fields are absent. Which score applies?

    Answer: 1 — partial visual loss

    Loss restricted to quadrants (inferior quadrantanopia bilaterally) constitutes partial visual loss, scored as 1.

  3. When testing visual fields in an uncooperative patient on NIHSS, which method can be used as an alternative to confrontation finger counting?

    Answer: Threatening gesture or visual threat

    A visual threat (sudden hand movement toward the eye) can be used in patients who cannot cooperate with standard confrontation testing.

  4. A patient is blind in both eyes from pre-existing bilateral glaucoma. How should NIHSS item 3 be scored?

    Answer: Score 0 because it is a pre-existing condition

    Pre-existing conditions unrelated to the current stroke are not scored; the examiner records 0 and notes the prior baseline.

  5. A patient scores 3 on NIHSS item 3 (Visual). What does this indicate?

    Answer: Complete bilateral hemianopia (bilateral blindness)

    A score of 3 indicates bilateral visual field loss resulting in blindness affecting both hemifields.

  6. Which visual field defect would most likely score 2 on NIHSS item 3?

    Answer: Left homonymous hemianopia

    Complete hemianopia (loss of an entire hemifield) scores 2 on NIHSS item 3.

  7. During NIHSS assessment, a patient with left middle cerebral artery stroke shows visual field neglect but no true field cut on careful testing. What is the NIHSS item 3 score?

    Answer: 1

    Visual neglect without a true field cut is scored as partial visual loss (1) under NIHSS item 3.

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Sources & references

Exam facts on this page (fees, format, dates, passing scores) are checked against these official sources; the date is our last check. Editorial policy

  1. ninds.nih.gov — Exam format · verified Oct 2026
  2. elearning.heart.org — Test delivery, eligibility, fees, renewal, score validity, retake fee, retake policy · verified Oct 2026