Chapter 44: Nursing Management: Patients With Oncologic Disorders of the Brain and Spinal Cord

The nurse educator knows which statement about pituitary adenomas is true? 1- They are most prevalent in the pediatric population. 2- Most of these types of tumors are malignant. 3- Cushing disease can result from a functioning tumor. 4- Men are more likely to be diagnosed with this type of tumor.

3

Carbamazepine (Tegretol)

Anticonvulsant

phenobarbital

Anticonvulsant

meningiomas

Any of a class of noncancerous tumors arising from the meninges.

spinal cord tumors

Benign or malignant, primary or metastatic tumor of the spinal cord.

Diazepam (Valium)

Benzodiazepine

gliomas

Brain tumors that develop from glial cells

Primary brain tumors

Clinical presentation due to mass effects (e.g., seizures, demential, focal lesions); Primary tumors rarely undergo metastasis. The majority of adult primary tumors are supratentorial, while the majority of childhood primary tumors are infratentorial. Note: half of adult brain tumors are metastases (well circumscribed; usually present at the gray-white junction).

cranial nerve VII

Facial

cranial nerve IX

Glossopharyngeal

Tetrabenazine (Xenazine)

Huntington's; Orphan drug; Lots of side effects and interactions;

cranial nerve XII

Hypoglossal

cranial nerve III

Oculomotor

cranial nerve I

Olfactory

cranial nerve II

Optic

Intrathecally

Pertaining to within the spinal canal

pituitary gland

The endocrine system's most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.

Intramedullary tumors

Tumor originating within neural tissue

cranial nerve X

Vagus

cranial nerve VIII

Vestibulocochlear

Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)

a questionnaire useful for determining the level of depressive symptoms that a person is reporting

cranial nerve VI

abducens nerve

acoustic neuroma

benign tumor on the auditory nerve (8th cranial nerve) that causes vertigo, tinnitus, and hearing loss

Wernicke's area

controls language reception - a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe

cerebellar function

coordination; point-to-point touching, rapid, alternating movements, gait

nonfunctioning pituitary tumors

do not produce any significant amounts of these hormones

-ptosis

drooping

s/s of brain abscess

headache, fever, and progression to lethargy and confusion

temporal lobe function

hearing and smell

aphasia

impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke's area (impairing understanding).

frontal lobe function

involved in motor function: problem solving, memory, judgment, impulse control

ataxia

lack of muscle coordination

Extradural tumors

located outside the dura and often involve the vertebral bodies.

glioblastoma multiforme

malignant brain tumor of immature glial cells

functioning pituitary tumors

often produce hormones in large and unregulated amounts

cranial nerve XI

spinal accessory

Nuchal rigidity

stiffness in cervical neck area

hypophysectomy

surgical removal of the pituitary gland

Mini mental status examination (MMSE)

tests the patient's concrete and abstract thought processes and long and short term memory

cranial nerve V

trigeminal nerve

cranial nerve IV

trochlear nerve

angioma

tumor of a blood vessel

Weber and Rinne test

use a tuning fork to distinguish between conductive and sensorineural hearing losses

Intradural-extramedullary tumors

within or under the spinal dura but not on the actual spinal cord