Orthopaedic Technologist Certified Cast Complications and Removal Flashcards

Compartment syndrome in a casted limb is BEST confirmed by:

Answer: Measurement of compartment pressure

Definitive diagnosis of compartment syndrome requires direct measurement of intracompartmental pressure, typically using a pressure monitor.

A patient returns with a cast applied 5 days ago and the cast is now loose and poorly fitting. The most likely reason is:

Answer: Reduction in swelling since application

Post-injury edema typically resolves within days, causing the cast to become loose as the limb volume decreases.

The 5 P's used to assess neurovascular status in a casted limb include pain, pallor, pulselessness, paresthesia, and:

Answer: Paralysis

The classic 5 P's of neurovascular compromise are pain, pallor, pulselessness, paresthesia, and paralysis (inability to move).

Which instruction is MOST important to give a patient regarding cast hygiene?

Answer: Keep the cast dry at all times unless it is waterproof

Keeping a conventional plaster or fiberglass cast dry prevents cast softening, skin maceration, and infection.

A patient with a thumb spica cast develops numbness and tingling in the thumb and index finger. This finding suggests compression of the:

Answer: Median nerve

The median nerve supplies sensation to the thumb, index, and middle fingers; compression under a thumb spica cast produces these symptoms.

When splitting a cast for bivalving, the second cut is placed:

Answer: 180 degrees opposite the first cut

Bivalving requires two cuts placed on opposite sides of the cast (180° apart) to create two equal halves that can spread open.

Which of the following best describes 'cast disease' (disuse atrophy)?

Answer: Muscle wasting and joint stiffness from immobilization

Cast disease refers to muscle atrophy, joint stiffness, and osteoporosis resulting from prolonged immobilization of the limb.