PCMI Final Flashcards
What are the four sinuses?
Frontal sinus, ethmoid sinuses, sphenoid sinus, maxillary sinus
What is special about the frontal sinus?
It does not develop until 8 to 10 years of age
What is the whisper test?
Doctor stands behind pt
Pt occludes one ear
Doctor whispers a series of 3 letters/numbers (2,K,4)
Pt repeats the sequence back
A second sequence is whispered and the pt repeats it back
Abnormal: Pt incorrectly identifies 4 of 6 letters/numbers
How should you pulling on the ear of your pt when using an otoscope (adult vs children)?
Adult: up, out, and posterior
Children: down, out, and posterior
What are the two types of hearing loss?
Conduction Hearing Loss: external/middle ear problem (conductive phase)
Sensorineural hearing loss: Inner ear, cochlear nerve, or central brain connections problem (sensorineural phase)
What is the Weber test?
Place a vibrating tuning fork on pt’s forehead
Normal: Sound lateralizes to both ears equally
Abnormal: Sound lateralizes to one ear or laterailzation is louder in one ear more than the other.
- If sound is louder in affected ear, this indicates a conduction hearing loss
- If sound is louder in normal ear, this indicates affected ear has a sensorineural hearing loss
What is the Rinne Test?
Compares air and bone conduction
What is Normal Breathing rate?
14-20 breaths/min
What is hypopnea?
shallow breaths with slow respiration rate (<14/min)
What is bradypnea?
Regular breathing rhythm with slow respiration rate (<14/min)
What is hyperpnea?
Deep breaths with fast respiration rate (>20-25/min; normal in exercise)
What is tachypnea?
rapid respiration rate (>20-25/min)
What is dyspnea?
When you feel short of breath
What is hypoxia?
Deficiency in O2 reaching tissues
What is hypoxemia?
O2 deficiency in arterial blood
What is Apnea?
No breathing
What is Atelectasis?
Collapse of lung tissue that affects alveoli from normal O2 absorption
What is the Pleximeter finger?
Hyperextended middle finger of non-dominant hand in percussion
What is the plexor finger?
The “tapping” finger used for percussion on the dominant hand
Where would you insert a needle thoracentesis for emergency decompression during a tension pneumothorax?
In the 2nd intercostal space (between the second and third rib) at the midclavicular line
Where would you insert a chest tube?
4th and 5th intercostal spaces just anterior to mid-axillary line
Where on the rib are the neurovascular bundles located and, knowing this, where in relation to the rib should chest tubes be inserted to avoid damage?
Neurovascular bundle found on inferior margins of each rib, therefore chest tubes should be inserted at the superior margin of the rib to avoid damage.
How does pulse oximetry work?
Light emits red and infrared light through finger. Receptor detects how much of both are transmitted through the finger. Oxygenated hemoglobin absorbs more infrared light than red; deoxygenated blood absorbs more red than infrared light. Comparison of transmission of both frequencies gives the oxygen saturation.
What is PETCO2 and what is its normal value?
Pressure End Tidal CO2. Messurespressure of CO2 in exhaled air at the end of respiration.
PaCO2 and PETCO2 are correlated
Normal PaCO2/PETCO2 = 35-40 mmHg
What is an incentive spriometer?
IS is a a device that has a little ball that rises in a chamber when you inhale through it. Doctor will tell you to inhale at a rate that maintains the ball at a certain height in the chamber.
Helps treat and prevent Atelectasis
What are the two Pulmonary Function Tests?
The two PFTs are Plethysmography (pt sits in an enclosed chamber breathing through a tube) and Spriometry (pt inhales to full capacity and exhales through a tube as rapidly and fully as possible.
Both are used to diagnose Obstructive/Restrictive pulmonary disorders.
What is tracheal deviation a sign of?
Pneumothroax
What does accessory muscle use in breathing indicate?
Same as Retraction
Sign of respiratory distress
Asthma, COPD, Airway obstruction, viral illness
What does retraction (skin retracts in thorax exposing ribs) indicate?
Same as use of accessory muscle
Severe asthma, COPD, Airway obstruction
What are the causes of clubbing fingers?
Congenital Heart disease interstitial lung disease bronchiectasis pulmonary fibrosis cystic fibrosis lung abcess malgnancy (lung cancer) Inflammatory bowel disease
What is funnel chest?
Depression of the lower portion of the sternum. Can cause compression of heart and great vessels resulting in murmurs
What is Pectus Carinatum?
AKA pigeon chest
Sternum displaced anteriorly (increasing the A-P diameter)
What is barrel chest?
Increased diameter of chest resembling a barrel, seen in COPD
What are the signs of Chronic Bronchitis?
“Blue Bloater” - Chronic Bronchitis is one form of COPD
Daily productive cough for 3 months or more in at least 2 consecutive years
Overweight and cyanotic
Elevated hemoglobin
Peripheral edema
Ronchi and wheezing
What are the signs of Emphysema?
“Pink Puffer” - form of COPD
Permanent enlargement and destruction of air spaces distal to terminal bronchiole
Older and thin
Severe dyspnea
Quiet chest
X-ray shows hyperinflation with flattened diaphragm
What is traumatic flail chest?
When pt has multiple rib fractures, paradoxical movements of the thorax occur during breathing.
Injured areas cave inward on inspiration, and move outward on expiration
What is tactile fremitis and what does it tell us?
Palpation test where you place ulnar surface of hands to sense vibration when pt says “ninety-nine”.
Decreased/absent vibration:
- Pt too quiet
- COPD
- Pleural changes (effusion, fibrosis, pneumothorax, infiltrating tumor)
Increased vibration:
-Pneumonia (consolidation)
How deep do percussion tones penetrate?
5-7 cm (can’t detect deep structures)