NIHSS Dysarthria Assessment 4

Question 1

Which of the following word list items is a standard component of the NIHSS dysarthria reading card?

Accepted Answer

'Mama'

Answer

Simple words like 'mama,' 'tip-top,' and 'fifty-fifty' appear on the NIHSS word list to test labial and lingual articulation specifically.

Question 2

A patient scores 2 on dysarthria. Which clinical finding is most consistent with this score?

Accepted Answer

Speech is completely unintelligible to the trained examiner

Answer

A score of 2 on NIHSS dysarthria indicates speech is so slurred it is unintelligible or the patient is mute.

Question 3

How does the NIHSS dysarthria score differ from item 9 (best language)?

Accepted Answer

Dysarthria measures motor articulation clarity; language measures comprehension and expression content

Answer

Item 9 (best language) tests linguistic content — word finding, comprehension, and fluency — while item 10 (dysarthria) tests purely the motor clarity of speech.

Question 4

A patient with locked-in syndrome is unable to produce any speech but is fully conscious. What NIHSS dysarthria score is appropriate?

Accepted Answer

2 – severe/anarthria

Answer

Locked-in syndrome results in anarthria (complete absence of speech output) in a conscious patient, correctly scored as 2 on NIHSS dysarthria.

Question 5

Which brainstem structure, when damaged by stroke, most commonly causes acute dysarthria detected on NIHSS item 10?

Accepted Answer

Pontine tegmentum and facial colliculus

Answer

The pontine tegmentum contains cranial nerve VII and VI nuclei; tegmental pontine stroke frequently produces dysarthria along with other cranial nerve signs.

NIHSS - National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale Practice Test

NIHSS - National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale Practice Test

NIHSS Dysarthria Assessment 4