Neurological Assessment Flashcards
7 cards from real TNCC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Neurological Assessment flashcards as text
Which pupillary change is associated with pontine hemorrhage or injury?
Answer: Bilateral pinpoint pupils
Bilateral pinpoint (1-2 mm) but reactive pupils are characteristic of pontine lesions due to disruption of descending sympathetic pathways.
A trauma patient cannot state the current month, does not know where they are, but responds correctly to their name. Orientation is best described as:
Answer: Oriented x1 (person only)
Orientation is assessed as person, place, time, and event; knowing only one's name represents orientation to person only (x1).
A patient with a C5 complete spinal cord injury would be expected to have preserved function in which muscle group?
Answer: Elbow flexion (biceps)
C5 innervates the biceps and deltoids, so elbow flexion is preserved at C5 while C6 controls wrist extension and C7 controls triceps.
Which oculomotor finding indicates a cranial nerve VI (abducens) palsy following head trauma?
Answer: Inability to abduct the ipsilateral eye (lateral gaze palsy)
CN VI controls the lateral rectus muscle; palsy prevents abduction (outward gaze) of the affected eye.
Spinal shock is characterized by which clinical findings immediately after a complete spinal cord injury?
Answer: Flaccid paralysis, absent reflexes, and loss of autonomic function below the injury level
Spinal shock causes immediate flaccid paralysis with areflexia below the injury level due to abrupt loss of supraspinal input; spasticity develops later.
When assessing a trauma patient's verbal response on the GCS, the patient says words but they make no sense in context and form no sentences. This scores as:
Answer: 3 - Inappropriate words
GCS verbal score 3 (inappropriate words) is assigned when the patient uses recognizable words but they are random or out of context with no conversational exchange.
After a trauma patient undergoes craniotomy for an epidural hematoma, which nursing assessment finding requires the most urgent intervention?
Answer: New ipsilateral pupil dilation and decreasing GCS
New pupil dilation with decreasing GCS post-craniotomy suggests rebleeding or cerebral edema with impending herniation requiring immediate surgical reassessment.