Spinal Cord & Degenerative Neuro
Spinal cord injuries occurring at or above this specific cervical level damage the phrenic nerve, paralyzing the primary muscle of respiration (the diaphragm) and making immediate airway and ventilatory support the nurse's top priority
C4
This famous clinical triad—consisting of severe bradycardia, widening pulse pressure (systolic hypertension), and irregular respirations—signals impending brain herniation.
Cushing's Triad
The acronym used for rapid stroke recognition representing Facial drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulty, and Time to call 911.
FAST
This mood stabilizer requires strict therapeutic drug level monitoring, maintaining adequate hydration, and monitoring sodium intake to prevent toxicity.
Lithium
This neurological disorder is characterized by a loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, leading to tremors, rigidity, and bradykinesia.
Parkinson's Disease
Occurring in patients with spinal cord injuries at or above T6, this life-threatening hypertensive crisis is triggered by noxious stimuli below the level of injury (classically a distended bladder or bowel impaction)—presenting with severe hypertension, a pounding headache, bradycardia, and sweating/flushing above the injury level
Autonomic Dysreflexia
This specific posturing, characterized by rigid extension of the arms and legs, indicates severe damage to the brainstem.
Decerebrate posturing
The standardized 15-item clinical assessment tool used in emergency departments to evaluate stroke severity and track neurological deficits.
NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS)
This fast-acting drug class is the immediate first-line IV treatment to stop active, continuous status epilepticus.
Benzodiazepines (e.g., Lorazepam, Diazepam)
This drug is combined with Levodopa to prevent its breakdown in the peripheral circulation, allowing more Levodopa to cross the blood-brain barrier.
Carbidopa
Unlike Multiple Sclerosis, which involves an autoimmune attack on central nervous system myelin causing both motor and sensory deficits, this progressive neurodegenerative disorder damages both upper and lower motor neurons while leaving the patient's sensory function and cognition completely intact
ALS Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (or Lou Gehrig's Disease)
This life-threatening condition occurs in spinal cord injuries above T6, triggered by noxious stimuli below the lesion resulting in severe hypertension and bradycardia.
Autonomic dysreflexia
A temporary neurological deficit caused by focal brain ischemia that resolves within 24 hours without acute infarction on imaging.
Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA)
Combining an SSRI (such as Sertraline) with St. John’s Wort, MAOIs, or other serotonergic agents can trigger this life-threatening condition characterized by altered mental status, neuromuscular hyperexcitability (clonus, hyperreflexia, tremors), and autonomic instability
Serotonin Syndrome
Key adverse effects of Phenytoin (Dilantin) that require patient education on oral hygiene and lab monitoring.
Gingival hyperplasia
Blood dyscrasias
Therapeutic level monitoring (10–20 mcg/mL)
Occurring in acute spinal cord injuries at or above T6, this form of shock results from the severe disruption of sympathetic nervous system signaling, leading to systemic vasodilation and a classic triad of hypotension, bradycardia, and hypothermia (loss of body temperature regulation)
Neurogenic Shock
Three nursing and medical interventions used directly to lower dangerously elevated intracranial pressure.
Elevating HOB to 30 degrees
Administering Mannitol/hypertonic saline
Brief controlled hyperventilation
Before administering IV tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) to a patient with an acute ischemic stroke, this immediate diagnostic imaging study must be performed to definitively rule out a hemorrhagic stroke.
non-contrast CT scan
Older antidepressant class that requires patients to strictly avoid tyramine-rich foods (aged cheese, wine, cured meats) to prevent a hypertensive crisis.
Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs)
This neurological disease damages both upper and lower motor neurons while keeping sensory function completely intact.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
Frequently triggered by a recent respiratory or gastrointestinal infection, this post-infectious autoimmune disorder involves acute inflammatory demyelination of peripheral nerves, presenting with a classic pattern of symmetrical ascending paralysis that begins in the lower extremities and can rapidly progress to life-threatening respiratory failure.
Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS
This type of intracranial hemorrhage typically results from an arterial tear (often the middle meningeal artery) and presents with a classic "lucid interval" followed by rapid deterioration.
Epidural hematoma
This specific type of hemorrhagic stroke occurs when an arterial branch or aneurysm ruptures at the base of the brain, classically presenting with a sudden, excruciating "thunderclap" headache (often described as "the worst headache of my life")
Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (SAH)
Rare but fatal adverse reaction to atypical antipsychotics characterized by lead-pipe muscle rigidity, hyperthermia, autonomic instability, and altered mental status.
Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS)
This broad-spectrum antiseizure medication carries black box warnings for fatal hepatotoxicity, severe pancreatitis, and hyperammonemia.
Valproic Acid (Depakote)?