Health Assessment/physical exam Flashcards
- What is this examination position?
- What is it best used for?
Sitting position
- Head, neck, back, thorax and lungs, heart, upper extremeties
If patient is unable to maintain sitting position, what is the best alternative?
Supine position with head elevated
- What is this position?
- What areas are assessed?
Supine position
Head, neck, front chest and lungs, axillae, heart, and abdomen
If patient becomes short of breath easily, how do you position them in a supine position?
Raise head of bed
What position is this?
What areas are assessed?
Dorsal recumbent
Best for abdominal assessment (promotes relaxation)
For patients with painful disorders, how do you position them in dorsal recumbent?
Knees flexed (bent)
What position is this?
What areas are assessed?
Lithotomy position
Best for female genitalia inspection
What position is this?
What areas are assessed?
Sims position
Rectum and vagina
What position is this?
What areas are assessed?
Prone position
Hip joints, skin, and butt
What position is this?
What areas are assessed?
Lateral Recumbent
Detecting heart murmurs
What position is this?
What areas are assessed?
knee-chest position
rectum
When performing a physical examination, what are the steps (in order) that should be taken?
- Inspection
- Palpation
- Percussion
- Ausculation (listen)
When inspecting, what should be done?
- Close scrutiny (Look, listen, and smell)
- General survey
- Use of equipment
Discuss with client what you are doing
What is included in a general survey?
- Appearance and hygeine
- Body structure and position
- Movement
- Emotional/mental status
What do these odors indicate:
- Ammonia in the urine
- Feces from oral cavity
- Urinary tract infection
- Bowel obstruction
What do these odors indicate:
- Sweet, fruity breath
- Stale urine
- Diabetic acidosis
- Uremic acidosis
What do these odors indicate:
- Sweet, heavy odor from wound
- Musty odor from cast
- Pseudomonas bacteria
- Infection
What part of the hand should be used when assessing texture, consistency, masses, and fluids?
The palm or fingertips
What part of the hand should be used when assessing temperatures?
- Tactile discrimination (texture,swelling…)
- Temp= Dorsal part of hand
- Tactile= fingertips
- What part of the hand should be used when assessing postions/shape of organs/mass?
- Vibrations?
- Positions= Fingers and thumb
- Vibrations= ulnar surface of hand
When describing sound, what terms should you use?
- Frequency
- Loudness
- Quality
- Duration
What do these ausculation description terms mean:
- Frequency
- Quality
Frequency= pitch
Quality= characteristics like “gurgling”, “blowing”
Describe the pressure used when palpating:
- Strength and regularity:
Start light: accustoms patient
Perform deeper palpations when needed
- Irregular pressure better than continuous
What are the uses of percussion?
- Mapping location of organs
- Determining density
- Detecting abnormal mass
- Eliciting pain
How can percussion determine abnormal, superficial masses?
Percussion vibrations will cause change in percussion.
- Deeper mass would give no change
What are the two percussion methods?
- Direct
- Striking directly onto skin
- Indirect
- Placing one hand on skin and striking that hand
