Patient Assessment & Clinical Evaluation Flashcards
7 cards from real SHS practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Patient Assessment & Clinical Evaluation flashcards as text
When using the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), which three components are assessed?
Answer: Eye opening, verbal response, motor response
The GCS evaluates Eye opening (E), Verbal response (V), and Motor response (M), with a maximum score of 15 and minimum of 3.
A GCS score of 8 or below in a trauma patient typically indicates the need for which intervention?
Answer: Definitive airway management (intubation)
A GCS ≤8 is internationally recognized as the threshold indicating inability to protect the airway and the need for endotracheal intubation.
During a focused physical exam of an industrial worker exposed to chemical fumes, you notice mucous membrane irritation and stridor. These findings MOST suggest injury to which area?
Answer: Upper airway
Mucous membrane irritation and stridor (high-pitched inspiratory noise) indicate upper airway injury from inhaled irritants.
In occupational health assessment, a 'functional capacity evaluation' (FCE) is PRIMARILY used to:
Answer: Determine a worker's ability to perform specific job demands
An FCE objectively measures a worker's physical capabilities to determine whether they can safely perform the physical demands of their job.
Which auscultation finding is MOST characteristic of a tension pneumothorax during patient assessment?
Answer: Absent breath sounds on the affected side with tracheal deviation
Tension pneumothorax classically presents with absent breath sounds on the affected side, tracheal deviation away from the affected side, and hemodynamic compromise.
When assessing capillary refill time (CRT) in a trauma patient, a CRT greater than how many seconds indicates poor peripheral perfusion in adults?
Answer: 2 seconds
In adults, a capillary refill time greater than 2 seconds is considered delayed and indicates impaired peripheral perfusion or shock.
A warehouse worker is found confused and diaphoretic with cool, clammy skin after a forklift accident. These signs are MOST consistent with which type of shock?
Answer: Hypovolemic (hemorrhagic) shock
Cool, clammy skin, diaphoresis, and altered mental status after trauma are classic signs of hypovolemic (hemorrhagic) shock from blood loss.