Chapter 3 - Techniques & Equipment For Physical Assessment Flashcards
standard precautions
Measures to reduce the risk of transmitting infection from body fluids and non-intact skin
*hand hygiene is the #1 method!!
transmission based precautions
guidelines designed for the control of infections among patients with known or suspected infections caused by certain pathogens of epidemiological significance
types of personal protective equipment
gloves: worn to reduce potential of infection transmission
masks/eye protection: worn when procedures may result in splashes of patients body fluid
gowns: protect exposed skin
inspection
visual exam of the body
may need some equipment: penlight, otoscope
palpation
using hands to feel texture, size, shape, consistence, and identify tender areas
always state purpose and when you will touch the patient
use palmar surface of fingers
always palpate bimanually: see if both sides are the same
light: checking skin, 1cm deep
deep: check organ placement, 4cm deep
percussion overview (purpose)
evaluate size, borders, and consistency of internal organs
detect tenderness
allows you to see if there is air or fluid in body cavity
direct percussion
strike finger or hand directly against patients body
most common: striking costovertebral angle over kidney to see if there is tenderness
indirect percussion
requires both finders, place palm on body and strike middle finger with two fingers from your other hand
tympany
loud, high- pitched sound heard over abdomen
resonance
heard over normal lung tissue
hyper-resonance
heard in overinflated lungs
dullnes
heard over liver
flatness
heard over bones and muscle
auscultation
listening to sounds with the body
instruments needed: stethoscope (placed directly on the skin)
intensity
loudness of sound
pitch
frequency or number of sound waves generated per second
duration of sound vibrations
short, medium, or long
quality
description of sound (short, medium, or long)
supine position
patient laying flat on back
purpose: most normally relaxed position, easy to find pulses
prone postion
patient laying face forward, flat on their belly
purpose: assess extension of hip joint
lateral recumben
patient laying on their side
purpose: to detect murmurs
fowlers
patient sitting upright and learning back slightly
trendelenberg
laying flat on their back with their head angled toward the ground
purpose: help someone who is feeling faint or if someone is bleeding out
dorsal recumbent
patient laying on back with knees up in the air
purpose: used for abdominal assessment
lithotomy
patient on back with feet up in stirrups
purpose: to inspect genitalia
thermometer types
oral
axillary
rectal temperatures
stethoscope
function: blocks out excessive noise
diaphragm: used to hear hight pitched sounds i.e. breath, bowel, normal heart sounds
bell: used to hear soft sounds i.e. vascular sounds
sphygmomanometer
assists in blood pressure measurement
pulse oximeter
measures oxygen saturation in arterial blood
visual acuity charts
snellen chart: hung at a distance of 20 feet, patient tested one eye at at time beginning with the smallest line
e chart: used for small children or non-english speakers
rosenbaum: is held 14 inches away from face
opthalmoscope
used to inspect internal structors of the eye
otoscope
used to inspect external auditory canal and tympanic membrane
tuning fork
used for auditory screening and assessment of vibrating sensation
percussion hammer
test deep tendon reflexes
doppler
amplifies sounds that are difficult to hear with stethoscope
goniometer
protractor type measuring used to determine degree of flexion or extension of joint
audioscope
basic screening for hearing acuity
monofilament
used to test for sensation on lower extremities
transilluminator
used to differentiate the characteristics of tissues, fluid, and air within a specific body cavity
woods lamp
black light effect that detects fungal infections of the skin or corneal abrasions of eye
