Exemplar 11.2: Seizure Disorders

Drag and drop the seizure type with the description. [blank_start]Simple partial[blank_end]: -Typically only involves motor portion of brain. -Manifests as recurrent muscle contractions of face or contralateral part of body. -If ANS is disrupted, it may also cause tachycardia, flushing, hypotension, or hypertension. -May have psychological manifestations, such as deja vu, inappropriate fear or anger, abnormal sensations, or hallucinations. -No alteration in consciousness -Involves a restricted part of one cerebral hemisphere. [blank_start]Tonic clonic[blank_end]: -Sudden loss of consciousness preceded by a warning aura. -[blank_start]Clonic phase:[blank_end] Alternating contraction & relaxation of muscles, hyperventilation, eyes rolled back, frothing at the mouth, subsides after 60-90 seconds. -[blank_start]Tonic phase[blank_end]: Sharp muscle contraction that forces air out of lungs, loss of postural control, rigid muscles, extended arms and legs, jaw clenched, urinary & bowel incontinence, cessation of breathing & cyanosis, fixed & dilated pupils, lasting 15-60 seconds. -[blank_start]Postictal phase[blank_end]: Unconscious & unresponsive, but regaining conscious gradually; relaxed & breathing quietly; may be confused & disoriented when walking; headache, muscle ache, fatigue; may sleep for several hours; amnesia for duration of & after seizure. [blank_start]Absence[blank_end]: -Impaired level of consciousness -Brief cessation of motor activity -Blank stare, unresponsiveness, -Usually 5-10 seconds. -Can be up to several hundred per day. -Both hemispheres of brain, as well as deeper structures, [blank_start]Status epilepticus[blank_end]: -Continual seizure activity w/short periods of calm -Any type, but usually generalized tonic-clonic -Danger of hypoxia, acidosis, hypoglycemia, hyperthermia, and exhaustion. [blank_start]Complex partial[blank_end]: -Often proceeded by an aura -Impaired consciousness lasting for several hours -Repetitive non purposeful activity, called automatisms -Amnesia is common after. -Activation of only a restricted part of one cerebral hemisphere, usually originating in temporal lobe.

Which of the following is NOT a reason that a person may have a seizure?

Anticonvulsant drugs only work by raising the seizure threshold.

Which of the following is NOT an appropriate intervention for status epilepticus?

Select the nursing considerations unique to phenytoin.

You have a 23-year-old patient with epilepsy. She is being given primidone to control her seizures. What would you be looking for in this patient?

You have a patient brought into the E.D. following a seizure in the department store. She is conscious, but disoriented and sleepy. She reports that one second she had a ringing in her ears and felt "out-of-body" and the next she's on the floor with a 7/10 headache and people around her "freaking out". She reports that this has never happened before. You believe that she had a tonic-clonic seizure, but you need to get a clearer image. The patient's husband watched the whole episode. Which of the following questions is inappropriate for the information you currently have?

You are teaching a group of employees at a department store about what to do if a customer has a seizure. Which of the following statements made by an employee shows that more teaching is needed?

Oxygen should be administered to the seizing patient immediately.