CAPR PCE Written flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Ottawa Ankle Rules

Ankle radiography is indicated only when there is malleolar or midfoot pain plus bony tenderness at the posterior malleolar edge or tip, base of the fifth metatarsal or navicular, or inability to bear weight four steps.

Lachman test

A knee test performed at roughly 20-30 degrees of flexion that assesses anterior cruciate ligament integrity and is more sensitive than the anterior drawer test for ACL rupture.

Cauda equina red flags

Saddle anaesthesia, new bowel or bladder dysfunction, bilateral leg weakness and severe low back pain require urgent medical referral rather than routine physiotherapy management.

Grade III ligament sprain

A complete ligament tear with loss of joint stability and often marked swelling, graded III on a I-III scale where grade I is mild and grade II is partial.

Dermatome C7

The C7 sensory level corresponds to the middle finger and is tested alongside the C7 myotome of elbow extension and the triceps reflex.

ASIA Impairment Scale A

A complete spinal cord injury classification in which no sensory or motor function is preserved in the sacral segments S4-S5.

Modified Ashworth Scale

An ordinal scale from 0 to 4, including an added grade 1+, that grades resistance to passive movement to quantify spasticity, where 0 means no increase in tone.

Glasgow Coma Scale scoring

Eye responses score 4, verbal 5 and motor 6, giving a maximum total of 15; the minimum is 3, and scores of 8 or less indicate severe impairment.

Babinski sign

Dorsiflexion of the great toe with fanning of the other toes when the lateral sole is stroked, indicating an upper motor neuron lesion in adults.

Upper versus lower motor neuron

Upper motor neuron lesions cause hyperreflexia, spasticity, clonus and a positive Babinski sign, whereas lower motor neuron lesions cause hypotonia, atrophy, fasciculations and absent reflexes.

Normal arterial blood gas

pH 7.35-7.45, PaCO2 35-45 mmHg, PaO2 80-100 mmHg and bicarbonate 22-26 mmol/L; values outside these ranges indicate an acid-base or oxygenation disturbance.

Pursed-lip breathing

A technique with prolonged expiration through pursed lips that reduces air trapping and dyspnoea in people with obstructive lung disease such as COPD.

Six-minute walk test MCID

In chronic lung disease, a change of approximately 30 metres on the six-minute walk test is considered the minimal clinically important difference.

FEV1/FVC ratio

The fraction of forced vital capacity expired in one second; a post-bronchodilator value below 0.70 confirms persistent airflow obstruction and an obstructive spirometry pattern.

Sternal precautions after sternotomy

For roughly six to eight weeks after a median sternotomy, avoid heavy lifting, pushing or pulling with the arms, and resisted arm exercises to protect the healing sternum.

Stage 1 pressure injury

Intact skin with non-blanchable erythema that does not resolve with pressure relief; the area may be painful, firm, soft, warmer or cooler than surrounding tissue.

Rule of Nines

An adult burn surface area estimate: head 9%, each arm 9%, anterior trunk 18%, posterior trunk 18%, each leg 18% and perineum 1%.

Venous leg ulcer signs

Typically near the medial malleolus with moist granulating tissue, oedema and pigmentation; managed with compression therapy, unlike arterial ulcers, which must not be compressed.

Braden Scale

A pressure injury risk tool scoring sensory perception, moisture, activity, mobility, nutrition and friction/shear; lower totals indicate higher risk, with 18 or below indicating risk.

Informed consent elements

Valid consent requires capacity, adequate disclosure, voluntariness and comprehension; it must be obtained before assessment or treatment and can be withdrawn at any time.

Nonmaleficence

The ethical duty to avoid causing harm; it underpins risk management, maintenance of competence and decisions to withhold interventions whose harms outweigh benefits.

Mandatory reporting duty

Physiotherapists must report suspected child abuse or neglect and, depending on jurisdiction, impaired or incompetent colleagues to the regulator, even when information is otherwise confidential.

Scope of practice

The activities a physiotherapist is legally authorized and competent to perform; acting outside it, or delegating beyond an assistant's competence, constitutes professional misconduct.

Conflict of interest

A situation where a personal or financial interest could influence professional judgement; it must be disclosed and managed, and referral for profit is generally prohibited.

SBAR handover

A structured communication tool comprising Situation, Background, Assessment and Recommendation; it improves clarity and safety when transferring care between interprofessional team members.

Teach-back method

Confirming understanding by asking the patient to explain or demonstrate the information in their own words, then re-teaching any gaps identified.

Motivational interviewing OARS

Core skills of open questions, affirmations, reflections and summaries, used to strengthen a patient's own motivation and commitment to behaviour change.

Stages of change model

Precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance describe readiness to change behaviour; interventions are matched to the person's current stage rather than assumed readiness.

Number needed to treat

The reciprocal of the absolute risk reduction; it estimates how many patients must receive an intervention for one additional patient to benefit.

Positive likelihood ratio

Sensitivity divided by one minus specificity; values above 10 substantially increase the probability of disease, while values near 1 change probability very little.

PICO question

A structured clinical question format comprising Population, Intervention, Comparator and Outcome; it guides literature searching and critical appraisal of the retrieved evidence.

Level I evidence

Evidence from systematic reviews or meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials; the highest level in most hierarchies, although appraisal of methodological quality is still required.