Patient Assessment Flashcards
What are the four life functions
Ventilation
Oxygenation
Circulation
Perfusion
What is the best bedside assessment to tell if someone isnt oxygenating
Their heart rate increases
What is the most common problem between the four life functions
Oxygenation
What can low Urine (less that 40 mL per hour) output indicate
Poor perfusion
What is sensible water loss
Water that can be measured, examples are urine and vomiting
What is insensible water loss
Cannot be measured, water lost through sweating, lungs
What will you observe if fluid intake exceeds fluid output
Weight gain, electrolyte imbalance, increased hemodynamic pressures, decreased lung compliance
What do changes in the CVP indicate
Changes in fluid balance
Decreased CVP indicates what? And how is it treated
Hypovolemia, treated with fluid therapy
Increased CVP indicates what? How is it treated ?
Hypervolemia, treated with diuretics
What should you associate CVP with
Fluid in body
Orthopnea
What is it associated with?
Difficulty breathing except when in the upright position.
Associated with CHF
General malaise
What is it associated with?
Run down, nausea, weakness, fatigue, headache
Associated with electrolyte imbalance
Dyspnea? How are dyspnea grades measured
A feeling of shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.
Grade I - V the highest is V- dyspnea at rest.
What kind of questions do you want to ask in a patient interview?
Open ended questions.
What do you look at in a physical examination
General appearance, age, height, weight, nourishment
Edema
Presence of excessive fluid in the tissue known as pitting edema.
Peripheral edema ?
What is it associated with?
Swelling of the extremities, often seen in arms and ankles.
Associated with CHF and Renal Failure
Ascites?
What is it associated with?
Swelling of the abdomen
Associated with liver failure
What is clubbing of fingers and what is it associated with
Natural curvature of finger nails increases, making them appear large and round. It is due to chronic hypoxemia, usually COPD
Venous distention is associated with
CHF
What is capillary refill used for and how long should it take
Indication of peripheral circulation, it should take 3 seconds to come back
How is ashen, or pallor described
Decrease in color, anemia. Acute blood loss
Erythema
Redness of skin ]
Pectins carinatum
Anterior protrusion of the sternum
Precuts excaratum
Depression of the part of or the entire sternum
Kyphosis
Convex curvature of the spine (hunchback)
Scoliosis
Curvature of the spine, leans to one side
Cheyne-stokes breathing
What is it associated with
-
Biots breating
What is it associated with
-
Kussmauls breathing
What is it associated with
-
Apneustic breathing
-
Hypopnea
-
What is wheezing associated with and how is it treated
Bronchospasm, treated with bronchodilator
Unilateral wheeze, how is it treated
Foreign body obstruction, assessed with rigid bronchoscopy.
Strider
Upper airway obstruction
Strider with supraglottic swelling.
How to treat it ?
Epiglottitis, racemic epinephrine
Strider with subglottic swelling
How is it treated?
Croup or post extubation. Treated with racemic epinephrine
How do you treat marked strider? And what is it?
It’s very severe strider, you intubate immediately
What is pleural friction rub? What is it associated with? How is it treated?
Course, grating, raspy, crunchy sound.
Associated with pleurisy, TB, pneumonia, pulmonary infarction, cancer, etc.
Treated with steroids, or antibiotics if infection is present
What do you recommend if you hear S3 and/or S4 heart sounds?
Recommend echocardiogram. (Ultrasound of heart)
What is the term for increased blood pressure?
What causes it?
How do you treat it ?
Hypertension
Cardiac stress
Give oxygen therapy
What is the term for decreased blood pressure?
What is it caused by?
How is it treated?
Hypovolemia
CHF
Fluids
When looking at an X-ray, what would crowding ribs indicate?
Atelectasis
When looking at an X-ray, what would straight or horizontal ribs indicate?
Air trapping
Describe lateral decubitus position in X-ray. What is it valuable for to detect?
Patient lies on the side of the pathology. It is good to use to detect a small pleural effusion because it will move with gravity
What does the apical lordotic detect?
T.B. Usually presents on top of the lungs
When would you use a lateral neck X-ray?
How can you tell the difference between the two pathologies?
If croup or epiglottitis are suspected.
Croup= steeple sign/picket fence/pencil point
Epiglottitis= thumb sign. Epi= on top of vocal cords
What is hypertrophy and what is it associated with
An increase in muscle size . Associated with COPD
What is atrophy and what is it associated with
Muscle weakness
Paralysis
What are retractions associated with in both adults and and infants?
Airway obstruction in adults, respiratory distress in infants
Mallampati classification system. What does it indicate
A system used to identify how difficult an airway will be to intubate. Works in classes 1-4. Four being the most difficult to visualize. 1 being the best class for intubation. 1 sees all four landmarks.
What is the most important thing to palpate in an exam
Pulse.
What is indicative of an adverse reaction to a treatment or medication?
A Change in heart rate of 20 beats per minute or more.