General Examination Flashcards
What is clinical diagnosis?
Its whats wrong with the patient
What is the differential diagnosis?
more than one possibility of whats wrong with the patient
What is prognosis?
the outlook of the condition (is the patient going to get better or worse)
What is ausculatation?
listening for sounds with a stethoscope
What are vitals?
blood pressure, temperature, respiration and pulse
What is musculoskeletal?
describes interactions between muscles and skeleton
What is neuromusculoskeletal?
interaction between nerves, muscles, and skeleton
What is a consultation?
patient meets with doctor to describe symptoms, areas of pain, etc
What is 80% of any diagnosis?
History
What is a patients history?
health conditions, surgeries, whats going on with their symptoms, onset, etc
What are the components of a chiropractors examination?
general physical exam, chiropractic exam, orthopedic and neurological testing
What are the parts of a physical exam?
vital signs, listening to lungs, looking in the ears, etc
What are the components of a chiropractic exam?
static and motion palpation techniques
What is an orthopedic exam?
an orthopedic exam isolates individual areas of the body and helps to diagnosis
What is a neurologic exam?
neurologic exams are used to help rule out nerve involvement (sensory exams, vibrational sense and dermatome testing)
What are diagnostic tests?
labwork, xray, ct, mri, those sorts of things
What are the essential vital signs?
respiration rate, pulse, blood pressure, tempurature
What is the purpose of evaluating vital signs?
evaluaties health status on essential physiologic functions and vital organs
Why is it important to evaluate vital signs?
to allow provider to make educated decisions about treatments and other interventions
When should we take vitals?
On the first visit
on a re exam
if the patient hasnt been in in more than 3 months
When there is a change in the patients condition
Who requires vitals?
NCCA, most insurance companies, and medicare
What is respiration rate and what is normal for this reading?
The number of times a patient breaths per minute, normal is 16-20 rpm
How do you count respiration rate?
watch patients chest rise and fall for 30 seconds, then double the number
What is pulse?
the number of times the heart beats per minute
Where should pulse be taken?
use 2 fingers over the radial or carotid arteries. Never use the thumb! Count beats for 15 seconds and then multiply by 4.
What are some terms used to describe heart beat?
normal, bounding, weak, thready, regular, or irregular
What are average heart rates for babies to age 1, children ages 1-10, children ages 11-17, adults, and well conditioned athletes?
babies: 100-160bpm children age 1-10: 70-120bpm children age 11-17: 60-100bpm adults: 60-100bpm well trained athletes: 40-60bpm
What are things that can cause fast pulse?
exercise, anemia, some meds, fever, heart disease, stimulants, stress, alcohol
What are some things that can cause slow pulse?
heart disease, high levels of fitness, underactive thyroid
What device is used to take blood pressure?
sphygmomanometer
Which arm is prefered for takin gblood pressure?
the left
Where should blood pressure cuff be placed?
1 inch above elbow crease at heart level
Where should the stethoscope be place?
over the brachial artery in the antecubital fossa
What is more accurate- digital or manual sphygmomanometers?
manual
What is normal blood pressure?
120/80 or less
What is pre hypertension?
systolic is 121-139 and diastolic is 81-89
What is hypertension?
greater than 140/90
Who has higher blood pressure- male or females?
males
Where can tempurature be taken?
orally, rectally, tympanic (ear), forehead, or axilla (armpit)
Which tempurature method will yield the lowest temp?
oral tempurature
Who is a candidate for rectal tempurature readings?
infants and small children that are unable to hold the thermometer in their mouth
What is the most common method to take temp?
tympanic
What could yield an inaccurate tempurature reading?
not keeping mouth closed, not leaving thermometer in long enough, taking temp after exercise or hot bath
What is the purpose of a general physical exam?
to confirm an overall state of health and to diagnose a health problem
What is the difference between a sign and a symptom?
a sign is objective information (measured info) and a symptom is subjective (basically what the patient tells you)
What are the duties of a CA during a chiropractic examination?
interview patient, write accurate history, determine vitals, assist doctor in exam
What is the main vector for spread of disease in healthcare?
hands, make sure to wash before and after each patient contact
How should a CA prepare a patient for exam?
explain what will happen
instruct patient into gown
remove jewelry buttons snaps etc for x ray
What is visual inspection?
assesses posture, mannerisms, size, shape, color, position, symmetry, and presence of abnormalities
What is palpation?
inspection by touch for texture, tempurature, shape, movement and can be with light or heavy pressure
What is percussion?
lightly tapping and striking the body to hear sounds or feel vibrations
What is auscultation?
listening to body sounds, such as heart or lungs
What is manipulation?
moving of a patient body parts
What is mensuration?
measuring a patients extremity length or diameter
What are the two different heads on a stethoscope?
diaphragm (drum) and bell
What is the diaphragm of the stethoscope used for?
detecting higher pitched sounds like breath or heartbeat
What is the bell of a stethoscope used for?
detecting low pitch sounds, like heart murmurs or bowel sounds
What are the 3 components of a pulmonary exam?
inspection, palpation, and auscultation
What is an otoscope?
it is used to looking in the ear
what is an opthalmascope?
it is used for looking in the eyes
What is the snellen chart?
chart used to determine patients vision
What is used for an auditory examination?
tuning fork
What are the 3 components of a cardiac exam?
percussion, auscultation, measuring pulses
What are the 4 components of an abdominal exam?
Inspection (color, symmetry)
Ausculatation (for bowel sounds)
Percussion (for fluid, hollowness)
Palpation (for masses, herniation, etc)
