QUESTION 1. A 60-year-old female with a recent history of head trauma and a long-term history of hypertension presents to the ER for changes in mental status. MRI reveals that she had a hemorrhagic stroke. What does the nurse suspect caused this type of stroke?
a. Rheumatic heart disease
b. Thrombi
c. Aneurysm
d. Hypotension
QUESTION 2. A 50-year-old male suffers a severe head injury when his motorcycle hits a tree. His breathing becomes deep and rapid but with normal pattern. What term should the nurse use for this condition?
a. Gasping
b. Ataxic breathing
c. Apneusis
d. Central neurogenic hyperventilation
QUESTION 3. A 20-year-old male was at the supermarket when he fell to the ground. Bystanders reported that he lost consciousness and his body tensed up then relaxed, then tensed and relaxed several times. He most likely was experiencing a(n):
a. Partial seizure
b. Absence seizure
c. Myoclonic seizure
d. Tonic-clonic seizure
QUESTION 4. A 65-year-old male recently suffered a cerebral vascular accident. He is now unable to recognize and identify objects by touch because of injury to the sensory cortex. How should the nurse document this finding?
a. Hypomimesis
b. Agnosia
c. Dysphasia
d. Echolalia
QUESTION 5. Which finding indicates the patient is having complications from heat stroke?
a. Mild elevation of core body temperatures
b. Cerebral edema and degeneration of the CNS
c. Spasmodic cramping in the abdomen and extremities
d. Alterations in calcium uptake
QUESTION 6. A 15-year-old male is brought to the ER for treatment of injuries received in a motor vehicle accident. An MRI reveals spinal cord injury, and his body temperature fluctuates markedly. The most accurate explanation of this phenomenon is that:
a. He developed pneumonia.
b. His sympathetic nervous system has been damaged and thermal control disturbed.
c. He has a brain injury.
d. He has septicemia from an unknown source.
QUESTION 7. A 69-year-old male with a history of alcohol abuse presents to the emergency room (ER) after a month-long episode of headaches and confusion. Based on his alcoholism, a likely cause of his neurologic symptoms is:
a. Concussion
b. Chronic subdural hematoma
c. Epidural hematoma
d. Subacute subdural hematoma
QUESTION 8. When a patient has a peculiar sensation that immediately precedes a seizure, what term should the nurse use to describe this sensation?
a. Prodroma
b. Agnosia
c. Spasm
d. Aura
QUESTION 9. A 40-year-old male complains of uncontrolled excessive movement and progressive dysfunction of intellectual and thought processes. He is experiencing movement problems that begin in the face and arms that eventually affect the entire body. The most likely diagnosis is:
a. Tardive dyskinesia
b. Huntington disease
c. Hypokinesia
d. Alzheimer disease
QUESTION 10. A 16-year-old male took a recreational drug that altered his level of arousal. Physical exam revealed a negative Babinski sign, equal and reactive pupils, and roving eye movements. Which of the following diagnosis will the nurse most likely see on the chart?
a. Psychogenic arousal alteration
b. Metabolically induced coma
c. Structurally induced coma
d. Structural arousal alteration
QUESTION 11. A 20-year-old male was brought to the emergency room (ER) for severe burns. He requested something for the excruciating pain he was experiencing. Blocking which of the following neurotransmitters would reduce his pain?
a. Enkephalin
b. Dopamine
c. Acetylcholine
d. Substance P
QUESTION 12. A 20-year-old male suffers a severe closed head injury in a motor vehicle accident. He remains in a vegetative state (VS) 1 month after the accident. Which of the following structures is most likely keeping the patient alive?
a. Cerebral cortex
b. Brainstem
c. Spinal cord
d. Cerebellum
QUESTION 13. A 30-year-old female had a seizure that started with her fingers and progressively spread up her arm and then extended to her leg, with no loss of consciousness. How should the nurse chart this?
a. Myoclonic seizure
b. Tonic-clonic seizure
c. Focal motor seizure
d. Atonic seizure
QUESTION 14. A patient has memory loss of events that occurred before a head injury. What cognitive disorder does the nurse suspect the patient is experiencing?
a. Selective memory deficit
b. Anterograde amnesia
c. Retrograde amnesia
d. Executive memory deficit
QUESTION 15. A patient with an addiction to alcohol checked into a rehabilitation center. He experiences delirium, inability to concentrate, and is easily distracted. From which of the following is he most likely suffering?
a. Acute confusional state
b. Echolalia
c. Dementia
d. Dysphagia
QUESTION 16. The nursing student would correctly identify the most common symptom of brain abscess as:
a. Nuchal rigidity
b. Vomiting
c. Drowsiness
d. Headache
QUESTION 17. A 23-year-old female begins having problems with tiredness, weakness, and visual changes. Her diagnosis is multiple sclerosis (MS). What is occurring in the patient's body?
a. Depletion of dopamine in the central nervous system (CNS)
b. Demyelination of nerve fibers in the CNS
c. The development of neurofibril webs in the CNS
d. Reduced amounts of acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction
QUESTION 18. A 15-month-old child from Pennsylvania was brought to the ER for fever, seizure activity, cranial palsies, and paralysis. Which of the following diagnosis will be documented in the chart?
a. Eastern equine encephalitis
b. Venezuelan encephalitis
c. St. Louis encephalitis
d. West Nile encephalitis
QUESTION 19. When a patient has a fever, which of the following thermoregulatory mechanisms is activated?
a. The body's thermostat is adjusted to a lower temperature.
b. Temperature is raised above the set point.
c. Bacteria directly stimulate peripheral thermogenesis.
d. The body's thermostat is reset to a higher level.
QUESTION 20. Parents of a 3-month-old infant bring him to the emergency room (ER) after he has had a seizure. He has muscle rigidity, and the parents report they are of Jewish ancestry. For what genetic disease should this infant be screened?
a. Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy
b. Congenital encephalopathy
c. Tay-Sachs disease
d. PKU
QUESTION 21. An initial assessment finding associated with acute spinal cord injury is _____ the injury.
a. Pain below the level of
b. Loss of autonomic reflexes above
c. Loss of voluntary control below
d. Hyperactive spinal reflexes below
QUESTION 22. A nurse should document on the chart that chronic pain is occurring when the patient reports the pain has lasted longer than:
a. 1 month
b. 3 to 6 months
c. 1 year
d. 2 to 3 years
QUESTION 23. A teenage boy sustains a severe closed head injury following an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) accident. He is in a state of deep sleep that requires vigorous stimulation to elicit eye opening. How should the nurse document this in the chart?
a. Confusion
b. Coma
c. Obtundation
d. Stupor
QUESTION 24. Which system modulates a patient's perception of pain?
a. Reticular-discriminative system
b. Affective-motivational system
c. Cognitive-evaluative system
d. Reticular-activating system
QUESTION 25. A child presents to his primary care provider with disorientation, delirium, aggressiveness, and stupor. His parents report that he was recently ill with an upper respiratory infection, which they treated with aspirin. Which of the following is the most likely diagnosis?
a. Epilepsy
b. Reye syndrome
c. Tay-Sachs
d. PKU