NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) – Complete Study Guide with Questions,
Scoring Breakdown & Clinical Examples – 2025
How many items on the NIH stroke scale? - ANSWER****11
NIH Stroke scale is - ANSWER****an 11-item clinical evaluation instrument widely used in
clinical trials and practice to assess neurologic outcome and degree of recovery from stroke.
NIH Stroke Scale is used to quantify the effects of acute cerebral ischemia on levels of ... (7
items) - ANSWER****levels of:
consciousness
vision
motor function (facial and extremities)
cerebellar function
sensation
language
extinction or inattention
NIH SS is used to measure patient's status after a stroke and to assess the outcome after -
ANSWER****treatment
Should the patient be coached? Should you go back and rethink a particular assessment? -
ANSWER****NO
Having what when using NIH scale is important? - ANSWER****reference materials
,DO NOT RATE what you think the patient wants to do or what you think they can do, RATE ONLY
- ANSWER****rate only what they actually do
use patient"s first response? - ANSWER****YES - DO NOT USE SUMMARY OF RESPONSES
re ataxia score
1-if real weak, assume ataxia score is...
2-if they can hold leg or arm up w/ minimal drift but are all over place when trying finger to
nose test, that's probably...
3) Important to know if ataxia is present or not and if present in _____ or _______ limbs
4) if patient very weak or paralyzed, the ataxia score is... - ANSWER****1) 0
2) ataxia
3) 1 or 2
4) 0
You should only score loss of sensation if you can really demonstrate... - ANSWER****that
they have loss of sensation
if patient has sensory loss from neuropathy, do you count thatt? - ANSWER****no, but you do
if there's loss on top of the neuropathy
aphasia is difficult because it can take a while to go through the battery and it can be subjective
as to whether it is one of which classification? - ANSWER****mild, mod, severe
start to recognise aphasia when you meet them and start talking and you don't get a history of...
- ANSWER****what happened
, dysarthria is interesting because there are many cultural things about slurred ________? -
ANSWER****speech.
Score is associated with prognosis? - ANSWER****YES
Is NIH scale a measure of disability? - ANSWER****NO. The NIH scale is a measure of
impairments.
The NIH scale creates a common currency so that everybody understands the patient's level of...
- ANSWER****deficit, by giving a number that communicates to other professionals how sick
the patient is
how much time to budget to perorm NIH scale - ANSWER****7-10 mins
What effort should be recorded? Do not do what? - ANSWER****The patient's first effort.
Don't go back and change scores.
IMPORTANT CONVENTIONS IN ADMINISTRATION:
Administer scale items in their exact ______
-Avoid ______ing patient
-Accept patient's _______ effort
-Score only what the patient _______
-Be consistent
-Include all _________s into scoring, including those that may be from _________s ______s -
ANSWER****-order
-coaching
-first
Scoring Breakdown & Clinical Examples – 2025
How many items on the NIH stroke scale? - ANSWER****11
NIH Stroke scale is - ANSWER****an 11-item clinical evaluation instrument widely used in
clinical trials and practice to assess neurologic outcome and degree of recovery from stroke.
NIH Stroke Scale is used to quantify the effects of acute cerebral ischemia on levels of ... (7
items) - ANSWER****levels of:
consciousness
vision
motor function (facial and extremities)
cerebellar function
sensation
language
extinction or inattention
NIH SS is used to measure patient's status after a stroke and to assess the outcome after -
ANSWER****treatment
Should the patient be coached? Should you go back and rethink a particular assessment? -
ANSWER****NO
Having what when using NIH scale is important? - ANSWER****reference materials
,DO NOT RATE what you think the patient wants to do or what you think they can do, RATE ONLY
- ANSWER****rate only what they actually do
use patient"s first response? - ANSWER****YES - DO NOT USE SUMMARY OF RESPONSES
re ataxia score
1-if real weak, assume ataxia score is...
2-if they can hold leg or arm up w/ minimal drift but are all over place when trying finger to
nose test, that's probably...
3) Important to know if ataxia is present or not and if present in _____ or _______ limbs
4) if patient very weak or paralyzed, the ataxia score is... - ANSWER****1) 0
2) ataxia
3) 1 or 2
4) 0
You should only score loss of sensation if you can really demonstrate... - ANSWER****that
they have loss of sensation
if patient has sensory loss from neuropathy, do you count thatt? - ANSWER****no, but you do
if there's loss on top of the neuropathy
aphasia is difficult because it can take a while to go through the battery and it can be subjective
as to whether it is one of which classification? - ANSWER****mild, mod, severe
start to recognise aphasia when you meet them and start talking and you don't get a history of...
- ANSWER****what happened
, dysarthria is interesting because there are many cultural things about slurred ________? -
ANSWER****speech.
Score is associated with prognosis? - ANSWER****YES
Is NIH scale a measure of disability? - ANSWER****NO. The NIH scale is a measure of
impairments.
The NIH scale creates a common currency so that everybody understands the patient's level of...
- ANSWER****deficit, by giving a number that communicates to other professionals how sick
the patient is
how much time to budget to perorm NIH scale - ANSWER****7-10 mins
What effort should be recorded? Do not do what? - ANSWER****The patient's first effort.
Don't go back and change scores.
IMPORTANT CONVENTIONS IN ADMINISTRATION:
Administer scale items in their exact ______
-Avoid ______ing patient
-Accept patient's _______ effort
-Score only what the patient _______
-Be consistent
-Include all _________s into scoring, including those that may be from _________s ______s -
ANSWER****-order
-coaching
-first
