Neuro Assessment

The nurse on the Neurology unit closely watches patients' movements because she understands that the primary function of the cerebellum includes which of the following?

• Visual perception

• Maintenance of personality characteristics

• Maintenance of equilibrium & muscle coordination

• Auditory processing

• Controls heart rate & blood pressure

A patient in your unit has suffered a frontal head injury from a motor vehicle accident. Which type of impairment may result from an injury to the frontal lobe?

• Loss of vision

• Loss of sensation

• Alterations in personality

• Alterations in hearing

• Alterations in vitals

The nurse observes the patient’s tongue for symmetry, tremors, & strength, & assesses the patient’s speech. Which cranial nerve is the nurse assessing?

• Cranial nerve VI

• Cranial nerve XII

• Cranial nerve IV

• Cranial nerve IX

• Cranial nerve VIII

A 57-year-old patient has had a cerebral aneurysm repaired. Postoperatively, she opens her eyes to painful stimuli, when speaking her conversation makes no sense, and weakly pulls her hand away when painful pressure is exerted on the nail bed of a finger. Her Glasgow Coma Scale score would be:

When a pain stimulus is applied, your head injured patient flexes and adducts both arms. This response classically characterizes….

• Ability to localize pain & coordinate a response

• Decorticate posturing

• Withdrawal response to pain

• Decerberate posturing

• A positive Romberg’s Test

The Neuro ICU nurse is having problems controlling the temperature of a brain injured patient. The nurse understands that neuro trauma patients may have difficulty regulating their body temperature due to damage to the…

• Brain stem

• Medulla oblongata

• Hypothalamus

• Thalamus

• Dura Mater

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS1-3

What is the name of the behavior tool used to assess pain in older adults who have dementia or other cognitive impairment and are unable to reliably communicate their pain? (Fill-in-the-blank)

A patient is brought to the ER following a motor vehicle accident in which he sustained head trauma. Preliminary assessment reveals a vision deficit in the patient's left eye. The nurse should associate this abnormal finding with trauma to which of the following cerebral lobes?

• Temporal

• Occipital

• Parietal

• Frontal

A patient scheduled for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has arrived at the radiology department. The nurse who prepares the patient for the MRI should prioritize which of the following actions?

• Withholding stimulants 24 to 48 hours prior to exam

• Removing all metal-containing objects

• Instructing the patient to void prior to the MRI

• Initiating an IV line for administration of contrast

A nurse is assessing reflexes in a patient with hyperactive reflexes. When the patient's foot is abruptly dorsiflexed, it continues to beat two to three times before settling into a resting position. How would the nurse document this finding?

• Rigidity

• Flaccidity

• Clonus

• Ataxia