Episode 66: Stroke-like symptoms

A 68-year-old woman comes to the emergency department for evaluation of stroke-like symptoms. The patient says her face appeared "twisted" this morning but was normal when she went to bed last night. Her brother recently had a stroke, and she was worried that she may also be having a stroke. The patient has a history of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Vital signs are within normal limits. Physical examination shows facial asymmetry with drooping of the left corner of the mouth and loss of the left nasolabial fold. Which of the following additional examination findings on the affected side would be most suggestive of central nervous system involvement? A. Decreased eye lacrimation B. Inability to tense soft tissues of the neck C. Increased loudness of sounds D. Loss of taste sensation on the posterior tongue E. Sparing of the forehead muscles (00:00) Start (00:03) Problem (06:29) Answer (20:33) JABSOM (Hawaii Univ.) program