Chapter 19: Disorders of Visual Function

Which of the clients' statements would be most suggestive of retinal detachment?

I feel like there's a shadow that's blocking my vision

A client has shingles. What is the BEST time frame for the initiation of oral and intravenous antiviral drugs after the appearance of a rash to reduce the incidence of ocular complication?

3 days

A client presents with copious amounts of yellow-green drainage, conjunctival redness, and chemosis to the right eye. A culture of the eye drainage reveals S. pneumoniae. The client most likely developed:

Bacterial conjunctivitis

A young child has been diagnosed with amblyopia. The parents ask the nurse when treatment should be considered. At what age should treatment of children with the potential for development of amblyopia be instituted?

Before 6 years

A client has been diagnosed with bilateral cataracts associated with having difficulty seeing clearly. Reviewing the medication history, which drug may be responsible for the development of this condition?

Corticosteroids

The nursing student who is studying pathophysiology correctly identifies the condition that characteristically has an increase in the aqueous humor that fills the anterior and posterior chambers of the eye. What is this disease called?

Glaucoma

An older adult client has been diagnosed with macular degeneration. Which statement by the client BEST demonstrates an accurate understanding of the new diagnosis?

I suppose that this may be one of the things that happens when you get older.

During an eye assessment the nurse notes inflammation of the client's cornea. The nurse should document this as which condition?

Keratitis

The nurse is conducting a health promotion class on the prevention of blindness and vision impairment. The nurse determines that participants understand the information when they identify which vision disorder as most likely to have an infectious etiology?

Keratitis

Age-related cataracts are characterized by:

visual distortion

A client's history documents the presence of the homonymous hemianopia. What assessment finding would the nurse anticipate this client to display?

Loss of the same side of the visual field in each eye.

Which visual deficit is a clinician justified in attributing to the normal aging process?

Presbyopia

A 69-year-old client comes to the clinic for a routine checkup. Upon examination, the nurse practitioner informs the client that she has cataracts. The client then tells the nurse that she already knew that and her physician told her that she could use bifocals and that would take care of the problem. What would be the BEST response by the nurse practitioner?

Surgery is the only effective treatment for cataracts.

A care aide at a long-term care facility has informed a resident's physician that the 80-year-old woman's eyes appear to be inflamed and that her eyelids are caked with sticky secretions. The woman has been subsequently diagnosed with posterior blepharitis. Which treatment is the physician likely to initiate?

Warm compresses to be applied regularly to her eyes in addition to oral antibiotics.

A client develops fever, headache, and burning/itching in the periorbital area. After a few days, a vesicular rash appears around the eyelid margins. The health care provider will likely prescribe:

antiviral medication for herpes zoster ophthalmicus

The ophthalmologist is performing a client's annual eye exam and notes an increase in intraocular pressure. The condition most likely is the result of:

imbalance between aqueous production and outflow

The nurse is conducting a community education class on amblyopia. The nurse determines that the participants understand the concepts when they identify which time period as the time when the amblyopia is generally diagnosed?

infancy

The nurse documents the presence of nystagmus when assessing a client. This can be interpreted as:

involuntary eye movements that preserve eye fixation on stable objects in the visual field

A client had been diagnosed with hemianopia. The client asks the nurse what this is describing concerning the eye?

loss of half of the visual field in one eye

Cortical blindness is the bilateral loss of the primary visual cortex. What is retained in cortical blindness?

pupillary reflexes

A client who experiences cloudiness of vision, sees floaters, and had an opaque lens is diagnosed with a cataract. The most appropriate treatment would be:

surgical lens replacement to correct vision

The nurse is performing an eye assessment on a client who presents with a red eye. The nurse determines that the redness is related to bacterial conjunctivitis based on which additional symptom(s)?

tearing, itching, and burning

The parents of a 6-month-old child who was born with a blocked tear duct are concerned because their child has been waking up the past few mornings with inflammation in the left eye and yellow, dried secretions preventing eye opening in spite of massaging the tear duct. The nurse would anticipate which of the following?

the child has developed dacryocystitis

The students are reviewing the anatomy of the eye and where the eye structures are located. Where is the anterior chamber located?

Anterior segment of the globe

An older adult in an assisted care facility with documented presbyopia has lost his or her glasses. The nurse should instruct unlicensed assistive personnel that the client will need assistance with tasks that involve which part of sight?

near vision