Examinations Flashcards
Introduction to any examination
- Wash hands
- Introduce yourself
- Confirm patient’s name + DOB
- Explain exam + gain consent
- Any pain?
- Which side (if relevant)? - Chaperone?
Cardiac examination - general structure
- Intro
- General inspection
- Hands
- Pulses
- Face
- Neck
… - Inspect chest
- Palpate chest
- Auscultate chest
… - Auscultate lung bases
- Hepatomegaly
- Oedema
- Sacral
- Pedal
… - Thank patient
- Present exam
- To complete…
Cardiac exam - hands
- General
- CRT
- Nails
- Clubbing - Temperature
Cardiac exam - pulses
- Radial on one side
- Time
- Also assess RR - Radial on both sides
- Collapsing pulse
- Brachial pulse
… - Auscultate carotids first
- 2x carotid pulses
Cardiac exam - face
- General
- Eyes
- Mouth
Cardiac exam - neck
- JVP
- Press on liver
Cardiac exam - initial chest
- Inspect chest
- Palpate chest
- Count ribs for apex beat
- Apex beat
- Heaves
- Thrills
Cardiac exam - auscultate chest
- Palpate carotid pulse at the same time
… - Diaphragm
- 4 valve areas - Bell
- 4 valve areas - Accentuation manoeuvres
Cardiac exam - auscultation manoeuvres
- Roll onto left side, auscultate mitral area with diaphragm, follow to axilla, expiration
- Still on left side, auscultate mitral area with bell, expiration
- Sit forwards, auscultate aortic area with diaphragm, expiration
- Auscultate carotid arteries with diaphragm, inspiration
Cardiac exam - final steps
- Auscultate lung bases
- Hepatomegally
- Oedema
- Sacral
- Pedal
Presenting a cardiac exam
- I performed a cardiac examination on ____ who is a ____ year old male/female
- On general inspection, he/she appeared comfortable at rest
- On closer inspection, there were no peripheral stigmata of cardiac pathology
- The pulse was ___bpm and was of normal rhythm, volume and character
- On palpation, there were no heaves and thrills and the apex beat was not displaced
- On auscultation, 1st and 2nd heart sounds were present with no added sounds
- In summary, this was a normal cardiac examination
- TO COMPLETE MY EXAMINATION I WOULD…
How would you complete a cardiac examination?
- 12 lead ECG
- Lying and standing blood pressure
- Fundoscopy
- Femoral pulses
Resp examination - general structure
- Intro
- General inspection
- Hands
- Face
- Neck
… - Inspect chest
- Palpate chest
- Percuss chest
- Auscultate chest
… - Inspect back
- Palpate back
- Percuss back
- Auscultate back
… - Oedema
- Sacral
- Pedal - Squeeze calves
… - Thank patient
- Present exam
- To complete…
Resp exam - hands
- General
- CRT
- Nails
- Clubbing - Temperature
- Tremor
- Fine
- Flapping - Pulse + RR
- Arms
Resp exam - face
- General
- Eyes
- Mouth
Resp exam - neck
- Lymph nodes
- Palpate trachea
- Cricosternal distance
- JVP
Resp exam - chest
- Inspection
- Palpation
- Count ribs
- Apex beat
- Chest expansion
- Vocal fremitus - Percussion
- Auscultation
- Vocal resonance
Resp exam - back
- Inspection
- Palpation
- Chest expansion
- Vocal fremitus - Percussion
- Auscultation
- Vocal resonance
Resp exam - final steps
- Oedema
- Sacral
- Pedal - Squeeze calves
Presenting a resp exam
- I performed a respiratory examination on ___ , a ___ year old male/female
- On general inspection, he/she appeared comfortable at rest with non-laboured breathing
- On closer inspection, there were no peripheral stigmata of respiratory disease
- The patient had a pulse of ___bpm and the respiratory rate was _____
- On palpation, the patient had normal and symmetrical chest expansion bilaterally
- On percussion, all lung fields were resonant
- On auscultation, vesicular breath sounds were present with no added sounds
- In summary, this was a normal respiratory examination
- TO COMPLETE MY EXAMINATION I WOULD…
How would you complete a resp examination?
- Sputum sample
- Peak flow/spirometry
- O2 sats + BP
Abdo examination - general structure
- Intro
- General inspection
- Hands
- Face
- Neck
… - Inspect abdomen
- Palpate abdomen
- Organs - Percuss abdomen
- Organs - Auscultate abdomen
- Bowel sounds
- Bruits
… - Oedema
- Sacral
- Pedal
… - Thank patient
- Present exam
- To complete…
Abdo exam - hands
- General
- CRT
- Nails
- Clubbing - Temperature
- Tremor
- Flapping - Pulse + RR
- Arms
- Axillae
Abdo exam - face
- General
- Eyes
- Mouth
Abdo exam - neck
- Lymph nodes
- JVP
Abdo exam - palpate abdomen
- Superficial palpation - 9 areas
- Deep palpation - 9 areas
- Organs
- Liver
- Murphy’s sign
- Spleen
- Ballot kidneys
- Bladder - Palpate aorta
Abdo exam - percuss abdomen
- Liver
- Spleen
- Bladder
(* Shifting dullness)
Abdo exam - auscultate abdomen
- Bowel sounds
- Bruits
- Aortic
- Renal
Abdo exam - final steps
- Oedema
- Sacral
- Pedal
Presenting an abdo exam
- I performed an abdominal examination on ___ , a ___ year old male/female
- On general inspection, he/she appeared comfortable at rest
- On closer inspection, there were no peripheral stigmata of gastrointestinal disease
- On palpation the abdomen was soft and non-tender and there was no evidence of organomegaly
- On auscultation, bowel sounds were present and normal, there were no bruits heard
- In summary, this was a normal abdominal examination
- TO COMPLETE MY EXAMINATION I WOULD…
How would you complete an abdo examination?
I - Inguinal lymph nodes
S - Stool sample
H - Hernial orifices (femoral and inguinal)
R - Rectal examination
U - Urine analysis
G - Genitalia
Thyroid examination - general structure
- Intro
- General inspection
- Hands
- Eyes
- Thyroid gland
- Other neck features
- Distal features
Thyroid exam - hands
- General
- CRT
- Nails
- Clubbing - Temperature
- Tremor
- Pulse
- Arms
Thyroid exam - eyes
- General inspection of face
… - Inspect eyes
- Look from side
- Look from behind
… - Eye movements
- Lid lag
Thyroid exam - thyroid gland
- Inspect thyroid from front
- Swallow
- Stick out tongue
… - Palpate thyroid from back
- Swallow
- Stick out tongue
Thyroid exam - other neck features
- Lymph nodes
- Tracheal deviation
- Percuss sternum
- Auscultate for bruits
Thyroid exam - distal features
- Ankle reflexes
- Inspect for pretibial myxoedema
- Stand up with arms crossed
Presenting a thyroid exam
- I performed a thyroid examination on ___ who is a ___ year old male/female
- On general inspection, he/she appeared well at rest
- On closer inspection, there were no peripheral stigmata of thyroid pathology including thyroid masses or eye disease
- The pulse was of normal rate and rhythm at ___bpm
- On palpation, the trachea was not deviated and there was no evidence thyroid mass or swelling
- On percussion, there was no evidence of retrosternal goitre
- On auscultation, there was no evidence of bruits or heart murmur
- Finally, there was no muscle weakness, pretibial myxoedema, and reflexes appeared normal bilaterally.
- In summary, this was a normal thyroid examination
- TO COMPLETE MY EXAMINATION I WOULD…
How would you complete a thyroid examination?
- Fundoscopy
- Visual acuity
- TFT blood tests
Upper limb neuro examination - general structure
- Intro
- Ask handedness - General inspection
- Pronator drift
… - Tone
- Power
- Reflexes
- Coordination
- Sensation
… - Thank patient
- Present exam
- To complete…
Upper limb neuro exam - what’s an important question to ask at the beginning?
Are you left or right handed?
Upper limb neuro exam - ‘special test’
- Pronator drift
Upper limb neuro exam - tone
- Passively move each arm to assess tone
Upper limb neuro exam - power
Assess each side separately, isolate each joint
* Shoulders
* Elbows
* Wrists
* Fingers
* Thumbs
Upper limb neuro exam - reflexes
- Biceps
- Triceps
- Brachioradialis
Use reinforcement if needed
Upper limb neuro exam - coordination
- Dysdiadochokinesia
- Finger to nose with eyes closed
- Finger back and forth between nose and examiner’s finger
- Fingers to thumb in sequence
Upper limb neuro exam - sensation
- Light touch
… - Vibration
- Proprioception
…
(* Stereognosis - identify object in palm)
(* Two point discrimination)
(* Graphaesthesia - draw number on palm)
Presenting an upper limb neuro exam
- I performed an upper limb neurological examination on ___ who is a ___ year old
male/female - On general inspection, he/she appeared well at rest
- There were no abnormalities in posture, deformities, muscle wasting, or fasciculation’s detected, Pronator drift was -ve
- Tone was normal throughout
- Power was 5/5 in all muscle groups bilaterally
- Reflexes were normal bilaterally
- Coordination was intact
- Sensation was normal in all modalities tested
- In summary, this was a normal upper limb neurological examination
- TO COMPLETE MY EXAMINATION I WOULD…
How would you complete an upper limb neuro exam?
- Examine pin-point/pain and temperature sensation
- Lower limb neuro, cranial nerve and cerebellar exams
- Neuroimaging - MRI head + spine
Lower limb neuro examination - general structure
- Intro
- Ask handedness - General inspection
- Gait
- Romberg’s test
… - Tone
- Power
- Reflexes
- Coordination
- Sensation
… - Thank patient
- Present exam
- To complete…
Lower limb neuro exam - ‘special tests’
- Gait
- Normal
- Heel-to-toe - Romberg’s test
Lower limb neuro exam - tone
- Passively move + roll each leg to assess tone
- Ankle clonus
Lower limb neuro exam - power
- Hip (x4)
- Knee
- Ankle
- Big toe
Lower limb neuro exam - reflexes
- Patellar
- Ankle jerk
- Babinski
Lower limb neuro exam - coordination
- Heel-to-shin test
Lower limb neuro exam - sensation
- Light touch
… - Vibration
- Proprioception
Presenting a lower limb neuro exam
- I performed a lower limb neurological examination on ___ a ___ year old male/female
- On general inspection, he/she appeared well at rest and gait appeared normal, Rombergs test was -ve
- On closer inspection, there were no abnormalities in posture, deformities, muscle wasting or fasciculation’s detected
- Tone was normal throughout
- Power was 5/5 in all muscle groups bilaterally
- All reflexes were normal bilaterally
- Coordination was intact
- Sensation was normal in all modalities tested
- In summary, this was a normal lower limb neurological examination
- TO COMPLETE MY EXAMINATION I WOULD…
How would you complete a lower limb neuro exam?
- Examine pin-point/pain and temperature sensation
- Upper limb neuro, cranial nerve and cerebellar exams
- Neuroimaging - MRI head + spine
Cranial nerve exam - general structure
- Intro
- General inspection
- Ask about smell (CN1)
… - Visual tests (CN2)
- Eye movement tests (CN 3,4,6)
… - Face sensation (CN5)
- Muscles of mastication (CN5)
- Facial movements (CN7)
… - Hearing (CN8)
- Weber’s + Rinne’s tests (CN8)
- Vestibular function (CN8)
… - Assess throat (CN9,10)
- Swallow, cough (CN9,10)
- Tongue (CN12)
… - Turn head against resistance (CN11)
- Raise shoulders against resistance (CN11)
… - Thank patient
- Present exam
- To complete…
Cranial nerve exam - visual tests (CN2)
- Inspect pupils
- Visual acuity
… - Visual fields
(* Blind spot) - Visual inattention
… - Direct + consensual pupillary reflex
- Swinging light test
- Accommodation reflex (distant –> nearby)
Cranial nerve exam - eye movement tests (CN3,4,6)
- Follow finger - H + I
- Ask if any double vision
Cranial nerve exam - CN5
- Light touch - V1, V2, V3 areas
… - Assess muscle bulk of muscles of mastication - teeth clenched
- Open jaw against resistance
… - Jaw jerk reflex
Cranial nerve exam - facial movements (CN7)
- Screw up eyes
- Against resistance - Puff out cheeks
- Against resistance - Raise eyebrows
- Purse lips
- Show teeth
Cranial nerve exam - CN8
- Assess hearing - whisper a number in each ear
- Weber’s test
- Rinne’s test
… - Unterberg - march on spot, arms out, eyes closed
- Vestibular-ocular reflex - focus on nose, head turned left and right, watch eyes
Cranial nerve exam - CN9+10
- Open mouth wide + inspect
- Say “aah”
- Swallow
- Cough
Cranial nerve exam - tongue (CN12)
- Stick out tongue
- Move from side to side
- Push into cheek against resistance
Cranial nerve exam - CN11
- Turn head against resistance (+ palpate sternomastoid muscle with free hand)
- Raise shoulders against resistance
Presenting a cranial nerve exam
- I performed a cranial nerve examination on ___ , a ___ year old male/female
- On general inspection, he/she appeared well at rest
- On examination of cranial nerves I-XII, there were no abnormalities detected
- TO COMPLETE MY EXAMINATION I WOULD…