NRSG 352 Neuro Quiz

A client recently experienced a stroke with accompanying left-sided paralysis. His family voices concerns about how to best interact with him. They report the client doesn't seem aware of their presence when they approach him on his left side. What advice should the nurse give the family?

"The client is unaware of his left side. You should approach him on the right side."

A neurologic nurse is reviewing seizures with a group of staff nurses. How should this nurse best describe the cause of a seizure?

A dysrhythmia in the nerve cells in one section of the brain

A client is brought to the emergency department with symptoms of a cerebrovascular accident (CVA). The nurse would anticipate which diagnostic evaluation to be completed prior to initiation of treatment?

Brain CT scan or MRI

A client the nurse is caring for experiences a seizure. What would be a priority nursing action?

Protect the client from injury.

As a member of the stroke team, the nurse knows that thrombolytic therapy carries the potential for benefit and for harm. The nurse should be cognizant of what contraindications for thrombolytic therapy? Select all that apply.

Recent intracranial pathology Symptom onset greater than 3 hours prior to admission Current anticoagulation therapy

A nurse is communicating with a client who has aphasia after having a stroke. Which action should the nurse take?

face the client and establish eye contact

A client experiences loss of consciousness, tongue biting, and incontinence, along with tonic and clonic phases of seizure activity. The nurse should document this episode as which type of seizure?

generalized

A nurse is providing education to a community group about ischemic strokes. One group member asks if there are ways to reduce the risk for stroke. Which of the following is a risk factor that can be modified?

hypertension

Which structural and motor change is related to aging and may be assessed in geriatric clients during an examination of neurological function?

Decreased or absent deep tendon reflexes

In which specific instances should the nurse assess the client's cranial nerves? Select all that apply.

In the presence of peripheral nervous system disease When level of consciousness is decreased With brain stem pathology

The nurse is providing care for a client who is unconscious. What nursing intervention takes highest priority?

Maintaining a patent airway

The nurse is caring for a patient with Parkinson's disease and is preparing to administer medication. What does the nurse administer to the patient that is considered the most effective drug currently given for the tremor of Parkinson's?

levodopa

A nurse is evaluating a client's cranial nerves during a routine examination. To assess the function of cranial nerve XII (hypoglossal), the nurse should assess the client's ability to:

stick out the tongue and move it rapidly from side to side and in and out.

A client falls to the floor in a generalized seizure with tonic-clonic movements. Which is the first action taken by the nurse?

turn client to side lying position

Which finding is considered a positive finding of the Romberg test?

loss of balance

Which topic is most important for the nurse to include in the teaching plan for a client newly diagnosed with Parkinson's disease?

maintaining a safe environment

A nurse is performing a neurologic assessment on a client with a stroke and cannot elicit a gag reflex. This deficit is related to cranial nerve (CN) X, the vagus nerve. What will the nurse consider a priority nursing diagnosis?

risk for aspiration

A client has just been diagnosed with Parkinson disease and the nurse is planning the client's subsequent care for the home setting. What nursing diagnosis should the nurse address when educating the client's family?

risk for injury

A nurse is completing discharge teaching for the client who has left-sided hemiparesis following a stroke. When investigating the client's home environment, the nurse should focus on which nursing diagnosis?

risk for injury

Thrombolytic therapy for the treatment of an ischemic stroke should be initiated within how many hours of the onset of symptoms to obtain the best functional outcome?

3 hours