LOW BACK PAIN EXAM STUDY
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
A male patient calls for ambulance transport after a sudden onset of low
back pain. Which of the following questions can best help determine if his
pain is life threatening or non-life threatening?
Do you have any chest pain or shortness of breath?
If you experience a back injury on the job, your best action is to:
Report the injury to your supervisor as soon as possible
A patient falls from a 15-foot (4.6 m) ladder and lands on her feet. She
immediately begins feeling throbbing and sharp pain in both heels. Based
on the mechanism of injury, which additional injury is most likely?
Lumbar spine injury
When encountering a patient with non-traumatic low back pain, what
should be considered your most valuable assessment component?
History
The primary function of the intervertebral disks is:
Shock absorption
Which of the following conditions is most likely to be a life threatening
medical emergency?
Cauda equina syndrome
A common cause of low back pain is impingement or inflammation of the:
Nerve roots
The movement of the flat surface of one vertebra against another is made
possible by the intervertebral disks and:
Synovial fluid
, A 44-year-old male presents with dull, aching low back pain after helping a
friend move furniture 2 days ago. He denies fever, bowel or bladder
changes, or radiation of pain down his legs. Based on the "Classification"
criteria in Section 4, this patient's condition is currently categorized as:
A. Acute low back pain
B. Subacute low back pain
C. Chronic low back pain
D. Degenerative disc disease
A. Acute low back pain
Rationale: According to Chapter 25, low back pain is classified by duration.
Acute back pain is defined as pain that has been present for 4 weeks or less.
Since this patient's pain began 2 days ago, it falls strictly into the acute category.
A 38-year-old female presents with low back pain, a temperature of
101.8°F, and reports that her urine has been "cloudy and smells funny."
On physical examination, the nurse practitioner elicits sharp pain with
light percussion at the costovertebral angle. Following the diagnostic
framework for "Infectious" causes, the NP documents this as:
A. Psychogenic back pain with exaggerated symptoms
B. Pyelonephritis with positive CVA tenderness
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
A male patient calls for ambulance transport after a sudden onset of low
back pain. Which of the following questions can best help determine if his
pain is life threatening or non-life threatening?
Do you have any chest pain or shortness of breath?
If you experience a back injury on the job, your best action is to:
Report the injury to your supervisor as soon as possible
A patient falls from a 15-foot (4.6 m) ladder and lands on her feet. She
immediately begins feeling throbbing and sharp pain in both heels. Based
on the mechanism of injury, which additional injury is most likely?
Lumbar spine injury
When encountering a patient with non-traumatic low back pain, what
should be considered your most valuable assessment component?
History
The primary function of the intervertebral disks is:
Shock absorption
Which of the following conditions is most likely to be a life threatening
medical emergency?
Cauda equina syndrome
A common cause of low back pain is impingement or inflammation of the:
Nerve roots
The movement of the flat surface of one vertebra against another is made
possible by the intervertebral disks and:
Synovial fluid
, A 44-year-old male presents with dull, aching low back pain after helping a
friend move furniture 2 days ago. He denies fever, bowel or bladder
changes, or radiation of pain down his legs. Based on the "Classification"
criteria in Section 4, this patient's condition is currently categorized as:
A. Acute low back pain
B. Subacute low back pain
C. Chronic low back pain
D. Degenerative disc disease
A. Acute low back pain
Rationale: According to Chapter 25, low back pain is classified by duration.
Acute back pain is defined as pain that has been present for 4 weeks or less.
Since this patient's pain began 2 days ago, it falls strictly into the acute category.
A 38-year-old female presents with low back pain, a temperature of
101.8°F, and reports that her urine has been "cloudy and smells funny."
On physical examination, the nurse practitioner elicits sharp pain with
light percussion at the costovertebral angle. Following the diagnostic
framework for "Infectious" causes, the NP documents this as:
A. Psychogenic back pain with exaggerated symptoms
B. Pyelonephritis with positive CVA tenderness
