MS 2 (exam 5) Flashcards
(78 cards)
Obtundation
Arousable with stimulation
Stupor
Remaining in a deep sleep, responsive only to vigorous and repeated stimulation
Persistent Vegetative State (PVS)
Permanently lost function of the cerebral cortex
Earliest indicator of improvement or deterioration in neurologic status is
LOC
GCS
- determines consciousness
- Assesses: eye opening, verbal response, and motor response
GCS scoring
Lower the score = the further alteration of consciousness
Highest: 15
8 or below: coma
3: deep coma or death
In general what should you watch for in increased ICP in children?
- Monitor the swollen fontanelle
- Watch for an increased circumference of the head. Be sure to measure
- Watch for Setting-sun sign
- Vomiting
S/S ICP in infants
- tense bulging fontanel
- separated cranial sutures
- high pitched cry
- irritability and restlessness
- drowsiness
- increased sleeping
- poor feeding
- crying when disturbed
- setting sun sign
S/S ICP in children
- h/a
- n/v
- diplopia, blurred vision
- sz
- drowsiness
- decline in school performance
- increased sleeping
Inability to follow simple commands - lethargy
LATE S/S ICP in children and infants
- bradycardia
- decreased motor response to command
- decreased sensory response to painful stimuli
- Alterations in pupil size and reactivity
- extension or flexion posturing
- cheyne strokes respirations
- papilledema
- decreased consciousness
- coma
Increased ICP treated with?
sedation, CSF drainage, osmotic diuretics
What is done for increased ICP
- Mannitol
- Usually given slow but can be pushed rapidly
- Indwelling catheter
- Maintain PaCO2 at 30 mmHg to produce vasoconstriction –> reduces blood flow –> decreased ICP
NI for increased ICP
- Watch positioning - avoid neck vein compression
- Elevate the HOB to 15-30 degrees
- Maintain head at midline
- Watch pressure points
- Cluster nursing activities
- Minimize stimuli
- Gentle ROM
- Suctioning and percussion - contraindicated unless respiratory problems are present
- Monitor for s/s of increased intracranial pressure
Make a latex free environment for kids who have ?
spina bifida, cerebral palsy, and are handicapped
Whats hydrocephalus
- imbalance in the production and absorption of CSF in ventricular system
causes of hydrocephalus
- congenital or acquired
- trauma, infection, neoplasms, developmental malformations*
What does hydrocephalus result in
impaired absorption of CSF within the subarachnoid space
OR
obstruction to the flow of the CSF through the ventricular system
3 factors that influence the clinical picture of hydrocephalus
acuity of onset
timing of onset
associated structural malformations
S/S of hydrocephalus
- Head grows at an abnormal rate
- 1st sign may be bulging fontanels with or without head enlargement !!
- Anterior fontanel is tense, often bulging & non pulsatile
- Scalp veins are dilated
- Bones of the skull become thin and sutures are palpably separated to produce the cracked pot sound (Macewen sign) on percussion of the skull
- Frontal protrusion (frontal bossing) with depressed eyes, eyes may be rotated downward, producing a setting-sun sign (sclera is visible above the iris)
- Pupils are sluggish with unequal response to light
- Irritable, lethargic, poor feeder, changes in LOC, and lower extremity spasticity
- Reflexes may persist and new, expected reflexes may be absent
If hydrocephalus is not treated what can occur?
development of lower brainstem function is disrupted = difficulty sucking, feeding, and a shrill, brief, high-pitched cry
S/S of hydrocephalus in childhood
- Headache upon awakening, improvement after emesis
- Papilledema
- Strabismus
- Extrapyramidal tract signs
- Irritable
- Lethargic
- Apathetic
- Confused or Incoherent
How is hydrocephalus dx in antenatal
Fetal ultrasound between 14-15 weeks gestation
Fetal MRI
How is hydrocephalus dx in infancy
head circumference that crosses 1 or more percentile lines within a period of 2-4 weeks
Daily head circumferences for those with myelomeningocele, hemorrhage, intrauterine viral or CNS infections
Older infants and Children:
CT and MRI
What is a VP shunt
cerebral shunt that drains excess cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) when there is an obstruction in the normal outflow or there is a decreased absorption of the fluid