CM- Pulmonary History/Physical Flashcards
What are the 3 cardinal symptoms caused by lung disease?
- cough
- dyspnea/shortness of breath
- hemoptysis (coughing up blood)
What is the differential diagnosis for cough?
- ACEI
- Asthma (bronchial)
- Bronchitis
- Cancer (Lung)
- Drip (postnasal)
- Foreign bodies
- GERD
- pneumonia
- tuberculosis
(AABCDFGPT)
What is the differential diagnosis for hemoptysis?
- abscess (lung)
- bronchitis (most common)
- bronchiectasis (wide flappy airways)
- cancer (lung)
- cystic fibrosis
- CHF
- fungal disease
- Infarct (pulmonary)
- pneumonia
- TB
- Vasculitis
(ABBCCCFIPTV)
What is the differential diagnosis for dyspnea/SOB?
- Asthma
- anemia
- anxiety (most common)
- CHF
- COPD
- Embolism (pulmonary)
- ILD
- MI
- pneumonia
- TB
- valvular disorders
(AAACCEIMPTV)
What is the mechanism by which a cough occurs?
What are the afferent branches and efferent branches?
Stimulus to cause deep inspiration, glottis closure, and contraction against the glottis to increase intrathoracic and intra-airway pressure
Afferent - trigeminal, superior laryngeal, glossopharyngeal, and vagus
Efferent- recurrent laryngeal causes closing of the glottis and spinal nerves contract abdominal and throacic muscles against the closed glottis
What are questions you want to ask someone that has a cough?
- is it productive? How much sputum?
- is it worse at night? (GERD)
- recent travel?
- pets? birds? (pscitacossis- down feathers)
- what is the occupation? (pneumoconioses)
What is the most likely cause of:
- acute cough
- chronic cough
- fever and chills with cough
- seasonal cough
- new medication cough
- cough at night
- pneumococcal pneumonia
- TB or bronchitis
- TB or pneumonia
- postnasal drip
- ACEI
- GERD
What is the difference between hemoptysis and hematemesis?
origin, color and content, pH
Hemoptysis is blood-streaked sputum or gross blood that is coming from the respiratory tract It will be bright red, frothy with hemosiderin macrophages. It will be alkaline pH
Hematemesis is blood coming from the GI tract (throwing up blood vs. spitting up blood). It will be associated with nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain. The blood will be dark red and the pH will be acidic
What is the likely cause if the hemoptysis is associated with:
- fever, chills, weight loss
- pleuritic chest pain
- just blood streaked
- large amounts of gross blood (100-600ml/24hrs)
- TB or cancer
- infarct or vasculitis
- bronchitis or pneumonia
- pulmonary hemorrhage, bleeding disorder, excessive anticoagulant
What is a “massive” hemoptysis defined as?
What are the 3 most likely causes?
It is a loss of 100-600mL blood coughed up over a 24hr period. This amount is life threatening bc it can cause asphyxiation and aspiration
- Pulmonary hemorrhage
- bleeding disorder
- excessive anticoagulant drug administration
What is the mechanism by which dyspnea is believed to occur?
Respiratory centers in the brain are stimulated by the vagus nerve, afferent somatic nerves from the chest wall and respiratory muscles, chemoreceptors in the carotid, or afferent phrenic stimulation to increase the work of breathing .
What is the likely cause of dyspnea if it is :
- positional
- exertional
- associated with fever
- associated with wheezing
- with pleuritic chest pain
- PND
- you ruled everything else out
- CHF
- CHF, valvular disease, anemia
- infection
- asthma, COPD
- PE, vasculitis
- CHF
- anxiety
What is respiratory paradox?
What is it a sign of?
What treatment usually follows?
When the diaphragm is weak and overworked, it moves up during inspiration and the abdominal wall muscles move inward during inspiration.
It is a sign of respiratory failure and means the patient will probably require mechanical ventilation
What are the four steps of the pulmonary physical exam?
- inspection
- palpation
- percussion
- auscultation
In the pulmonary exam, what eight things do you look at during inspection?
- chest wall deformities
- accessory muscle use
- tracheal deviation
- splinting
- clubbing
- cyanosis
- inspiratory/expiratory ratio
- pulsus paradoxis
What are the 3 major chest wall deformities? Describe each one.
What are likely causes of each?
- barrel chest- appearance of increased thoracic AP diameter that is an illusion caused by decreased abdominal AP diameter (also thoracic might be slightly wider due to reduced elastic recoil)
- COPD - pectus carinatum (pigeon chest) - protrusion of the sternum with a narrowed thorax.
- Rickets, Marfan’s, diaphragm abnormalities - pectus excavatum (funnel chest)- retraction of sternum producing an oval pit near infrasternal notch
- Marfan’s, rickets, tracheomalacia, bronchomalacia, CHD
SCM are normally not used during respiration. If they are being used, it means what?
FEV1 has decreased to below 30% of normal.
With chronic used SCM hypertrophy
What is the normal movement of intercostal muscles during inspiration?
They move inward during inspiration and outward in expiration.
Diaphragm contracts to make negative intrapleural pressure to pull them inward during inspiration.
What causes an exaggerated inward retraction of intercostal muscles?
Exaggerated inward retraction is due to airway obstruction that doesn’t allow the lung to fill keeping the intrapleural pressure negative and yanking intercostals further inward.
- flail chest
- COPD
- constrictive pericarditis
- restrictive lung disease
What causes decreased inward retraction of the intercostal muscles?
Decreased inward retraction during inspiration is indicative of increased expansion of the lungs with fluid or inflammation. This causes a LESS negative intrathoracic pressure when the diaphragm contracts.
- consolidation
- tension pneumothorax
- pleural effusion
What causes an exaggerated outward bulging of the intercostals during expiration?
It means there is increased intrathoracic pressure or that the lungs are unable to fully empty.
- emphysema
- acute asthma exacerbation
- tension pneumothorax
- flail chest
What causes a constant bulging of the intercostal muscles?
Massive pleural effusions which create a large positive pleural pressure and prevent lungs from filling