RESPIRATORY EXAMIMATION Flashcards

1
Q

How would you start any examination?

A
WIPER QQ
Wash hands
Introduce yourself
Ask permission
Expose the patient
Reposition the patient

Ask if they are in any pain or discomfort

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2
Q

How exposed should the patient be for the respiratory examination?

A

Top half of their body fully exposed

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3
Q

How should the patient be positioned for the respiratory examination?

A

Lying down at 45 degrees

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4
Q

What are you looking for from the end of the bed at the beginning of your respiratory examination? (Name 3 things about the patient and 3 things around the bed)

A
Comfortable at rest
Tachypnoeic
Nasal flaring
Tracheal tug (pulling of thyroid cartilage towards sternal notch in inspiration)
Use of accessory muscles
Scars of surgery, chest drains or radiotherapy
Symmetrical chest wall movement
Paradoxical respiration
Inhalers
Oxygen masks
Cigarettes
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5
Q

What is paradoxical respiration?

A

When the abdomen is pulled in during inspiration.

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6
Q

What is paradoxical respiration a sign of?

A

Diaphragmatic paralysis

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7
Q

What signs would you look for in the hands of a patient during a respiratory exam?

A

Clubbing
Tar stains
Fine tremor
Wasting of intrinsic muscles

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8
Q

What are the respiratory associated reasons for someone developing clubbed fingers?

A
Non-small cell lung cancer
Interstitial lung disease
Complicated TB
Bronchiectasis
Empyema
Cystic fibrosis
Lung abscess
Mesothelioma of pleura
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9
Q

What might make a respiratory patient have a fine tremor?

A

Salbutamol inhaler (Beta 1 agonist)

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10
Q

What might lead to wasting of the intrinsic muscles in a respiratory patient?

A

Pancoast tumour leading to a T1 lesion

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11
Q

What is asterixis a sign of?

A

CO2 retention

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12
Q

How long should a patient how up their arms to test for asterixis in a respiratory exam?

A

30 seconds

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13
Q

In terms of respiratory medicine, what might a bounding radial pulse be a sign of?

A

CO2 retention

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14
Q

What would you look for in the neck during a respiratory exam?

A

Jugular venous pressure

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15
Q

What might a raised JVP be a sign of?

A

Right sided heart failure
Hypervolaemia
Cor pulmonale

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16
Q

Should the JVP naturally go and up with breathing?

A

Yes, there should be a decrease in the JVP with inspiration.

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17
Q

What is the Kussmaul sign?

A

This is when the JVP paradoxically increases during inspiration. It is indicative of limited right ventricular filling.

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18
Q

What should you look for in the patient’s eyes during a respiratory examination?

A
Ptosis
Constricted pupils (Horner's syndrome)
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19
Q

What is a pancoast tumour?

A

Tumor of the pulmonary apex

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20
Q

Which lymph node is it most important to palpate in a respiratory examination?

A

Virchow’s node (left supraclavicular node)

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21
Q

What might you be looking during your inspection of the chest in a respiratory examination?

A

Abnormalities such as pectus excavatum

Scars

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22
Q

What must you not forget to palpate in the midline of the neck during a respiratory examination before moving on to palpation of the chest?

A

The trachea

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23
Q

What would tracheal deviation be a sign of?

A

Tension pneumothorax

Collapsed lung/lobe

24
Q

How far should your thumbs move apart when assessing chest expansion during a respiratory exam?

A

5 cm

25
Q

What are you looking for when assessing chest expansion during a respiratory exam?

A

Extent of expansion

Symmetry of expansion

26
Q

When might chest expansion be reduced bilaterally?

A

COPD
Asthma
Generalised fibrosis

27
Q

When might chest expansion be asymmetrical?

A
Pneumonia
Lobe collapse
Localised fibrosis
Pleural effusion
Large pneumothorax
28
Q

What might produce a dull percussion note during a respiratory exam?

A
Lobar pneumonia
Lobe collapse
Localised fibrosis
Pleural effusion
Tumour
29
Q

What might produce a hyperresonant percussion note during a respiratory exam?

A

Pneumothorax

Emphysema

30
Q

What are you looking for when auscultating during a respiratory exam?

A
Reduced breath sounds
Increased or reduced vocal resonance
Polyphonic wheeze
Stridor
Fine crackles
Coarse crackles
31
Q

How would you describe healthy breath sounds?

A

Vesicular

32
Q

When might you hear more bronchial breath sounds during a respiratory exam?

A

Pneumonia
Localised fibrosis
Lobar collapse

33
Q

When might you hear reduced breath sounds during a respiratory exam?

A

Pleural effusion

Pneumothorax

34
Q

In healthy lungs, are high frequency notes (such as whispering) better or less well transmitted through the lungs than low frequency sounds (such as saying ‘99’)?

A

High frequency notes are normally attenuated compared to low frequency notes, in healthy lungs. So low frequency notes will be better transmitted.

35
Q

In a consolidated lung, how might low frequency sounds be transmitted compared with a healthy lung?

A

Less well. High frequency sounds are heard better, so get the patient to whisper if you suspect consolidation. The sound should be enhanced.

36
Q

During a respiratory exam, when might vocal resonance be increased?

A

Pneumonia
Collapsed lobe
Fibrosis

37
Q

During a respiratory exam, when might vocal resonance be reduced?

A

Collapsed major bronchus
Pleural effusion
Pneumothorax

38
Q

During what part of the respiratory cycle is wheeze usually heard?

A

Expiration

39
Q

During a respiratory exam, when might a polyphonic wheeze be heard?

A

Asthma

COPD

40
Q

What is the underlying pathology of an expiratory wheeze?

A

Narrowing of the airways. Apposition as a result of the flow-limiting mechanisms.

41
Q

Why might wheeze not be heard in a patient suffering a severe asthma attack?

A

Insufficient airflow to generate any sound. This is indicative of an emergency.

42
Q

When might an end inspiratory wheeze be heard?

A

Obliterative bronchiolitis

43
Q

During what part of the respiratory cycle are crackles usually heard?

A

Inspiration

44
Q

During a respiratory exam, what might fine late inspiratory crackles be an indication of?

A

Pulmonary oedema

Generalised fibrosis

45
Q

During a respiratory exam, what might coarse inspiratory crackles be an indication of?

A

Bronchiectasis
COPD
Localised fibrosis
Consolidation (pneumonia)

46
Q

What are crackles, often heard during a respiratory exam?

A

The re-opening of airways during inspiration, which had become occluded during expiration.

47
Q

What is pleural rub, sometimes heard during a respiratory exam, and what does it indicate?

A

A creaking or groaning sound that is usually well localised. It indicates inflammation and roughening of the pleural surfaces. Present with an adjacent pneumonia or pulmonary infarction.

48
Q

What would you tell an examiner you would like to do to finish a respiratory exam?

A

Check their O2 sats
Sputum sample
Peak expiratory flow rate

49
Q

What are the different types of abnormal breathing patterns that might be exhibited by a patient during a respiratory exam?

A

Kussmaul breathing
Neurogenic hyperventilation
Hyperventilation syndrome
Cheyne-Stokes breathing

50
Q

What is Kussmaul breathing a sign of?

A

Metabolic acidosis most often seen in a patient suffering DKA.

51
Q

What drug might a patient have taken an overdose of if they present to A&E with hyperventilation and respiratory alkalosis?

A

Aspirin

52
Q

What is Cheyne-Stokes breathing?

A

Breathing gets deeper and deeper and then starts to get shallower in cycles.

53
Q

What is Cheyne-Stokes breathing a sign of?

A

Brainstem lesions or compression

Opioid use

54
Q

When inspecting a sputum sample, what might black carbon specks in the sputum be indicative of?

A

Smoking

55
Q

When inspecting a sputum sample, what might yellow/green sputum be indicative of?

A

Infection
Pneumonia
Bronchiectasis

56
Q

When inspecting a sputum sample, what might pink frothy sputum be indicative of?

A

Pulmonary oedema

57
Q

When inspecting a sputum sample, what might bloody sputum be indicative of?

A

TB
Malignancy
Infection
Trauma