Denny has a neurologic disorder and has just been diagnosed. His mother comes to you and asks what tests were ordered to aid in the diagnosis. You are the nurse on duty and try to assist her in understanding what is going on with her son
a. What type of diagnostic testing is done to detect neurologic disorders in a client?
b. Discuss what they are and what they can show.
Students' answers should include the following:
a. Imaging procedures such as CT, MRI, SPECT, or PET
Lumbar puncture
Contrast studies such as cerebral angiography or myelogram
Electroencephalogram
Brain scan
Electromyography
Nerve conduction studies
Echoencephalography
b. Lumbar puncture will show changes in the CSF, such as bacterial or viral pathogens by the color, odor, and thickness of the fluid.
Imaging procedures with contrast studies show distortion of vascular vessels by using radiopaque dye injected into the spinal canal, with radiographs then taken and studied.
Electroencephalogram (EEG) records the brain waves and can show such things as seizure activity.
Brain scans identify bleeds, tumors, abnormalities such as abscesses, infarctions, etc.
Nerve conduction studies aid in diagnosing nerve injuries.
Electroencephalogram is an ultrasound of the brain.
CT, MRI, PET, etc., use x-rays to produce three-dimensional–type images to diagnose and detect abnormalities and changes.
You might also like to view...
The registered nurse assigns a client who has an open burn wound to a licensed practical nurse (LPN). Which instruction should the nurse provide to the LPN when assigning this client?
a. "Administer the prescribed tetanus toxoid vaccine." b. "Assess the client's wounds for signs of infection." c. "Encourage the client to breathe deeply every hour." d. "Wash your hands on entering the client's room."
The nurse needs to be aware, before administering, that what drug has a duration of action of only 1 to 2 minutes?
A) Isoproterenol B) Dopamine C) Phenylephrine D) Ephedrine
The feeling experienced by a client that should be assessed by the nurse as most predictive of
elevated suicide risk is a. anger. b. hopelessness. c. elation. d. sadness.
An OB/GYN nurse is teaching a class on medications that affect uterine function. The nurse asks the class, "For what purpose or purposes are tocolytic agents used?"
Which response by a member of the class would indicate a need for further teaching? "Tocolytics are used to a. augment labor." b. control postpartum bleeding." c. induce abortion." d. suppress preterm labor."