Neuro Assessment
This neurologic assessment evaluates eye opening, verbal response, and motor response and produces a score from 3–15.
What is the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS)?
In the ABCDE approach to trauma, this comes first and requires attention to airway maintenance.
What is Airway?
Fever, severe headache, neck stiffness, and photophobia are classic warning signs of this neurologic infection.
What is meningitis?
Headaches, seizures, personality changes, and focal neurologic deficits can occur with this disorder.
What is a brain tumor?
HIV can be transmitted through exposure to this body fluid, making contaminated needles and syringes a significant risk.
What is blood?
Equal, round pupils that react appropriately to light are generally considered this.
What is a normal pupillary response?
This type of traumatic injury may cause confusion, headache, dizziness, nausea, and temporary cognitive changes.
What is a concussion?
This diagnostic procedure obtains cerebrospinal fluid for evaluation of infection, inflammation, and other CNS disorders.
What is a lumbar puncture?
This imaging study provides detailed visualization of brain tissue and is commonly used to evaluate brain tumors.
What is an MRI?
This HIV prevention medication is taken by people who do not have HIV before potential exposure.
What is PrEP?
A new decrease in level of consciousness, unequal pupils, or new weakness should be considered this until evaluated.
What is neurologic deterioration?
After a suspected spinal cord injury, maintaining this helps prevent additional neurologic damage.
What is spinal alignment/spinal precautions?
Fever, altered mental status, behavioral changes, and seizures are possible manifestations of inflammation of the brain tissue itself.
What is encephalitis?
A patient with a brain tumor has a new seizure. This nursing precaution should be initiated to reduce the risk of injury.
What are seizure precautions?
This emergency HIV prevention medication should be started as soon as possible and within 72 hours after a potential exposure.
What is PEP?
This neurologic deficit involves difficulty producing or understanding language and may affect speaking, reading, writing, or comprehension.
What is aphasia?
Hypoxia and hypotension after traumatic brain injury are dangerous because they can contribute to this type of additional brain damage.
What is secondary brain injury?
This neurologic infection involves a localized collection of infected material within brain tissue and can produce mass effect and seizures.
What is a brain abscess?
A brain tumor can cause neurologic symptoms because of its location, growth, edema, and this pressure-related complication.
What is increased intracranial pressure (ICP)?
This principle means that a person with HIV who maintains an undetectable viral load through effective treatment does not sexually transmit HIV.
What is U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable)?
When performing neurologic assessments, nurses should compare current findings with this rather than relying only on a single assessment.
What is the patient's baseline neurologic status?
A patient with TBI develops worsening headache, vomiting, decreasing LOC, and a new pupil abnormality. The nurse should be especially concerned about this complication.
What is increased intracranial pressure (ICP)?
A patient with suspected bacterial meningitis requires prompt treatment because delaying appropriate antimicrobial therapy can lead to severe neurologic complications. This is the nursing priority.
What is administering prescribed antimicrobial therapy promptly?
A patient with a brain tumor develops declining LOC, worsening headache, vomiting, and pupil changes. These findings should prompt the nurse to suspect this potentially life-threatening complication.
What is increased intracranial pressure with neurologic deterioration?
Name three major strategies nurses can teach clients to reduce HIV transmission risk.
What are HIV testing, condoms, PrEP, PEP when indicated, safer injection practices, and effective ART/viral suppression?