Respiratory Abnormal findings Flashcards
1
Q
pursed lip breathing
A
-COPD, asthma, increased breathlessness, strategy taught to slow expiration and decrease dyspnea
2
Q
tripod position/ inability to lie flat
A
- leaning forward with arms and elbows supported on overhead table
- COPD, asthma attack, pulmonary edema
- ind mod-severe respiratory distress
3
Q
accessory muscle use/ intercostal retraction
A
- neck and shoulder muscles used to assist breathing; muscles between ribs pull in during inspiration
- COPD, asthma attack, secretion retention
- ind severe respiratory distress/failure, hypoxemia
4
Q
splinting
A
- voluntary decrease in tidal volume to decrease pain in chest expansion
- thoracic or abdominal incision, chest trauma, pleurisy
5
Q
increased AP diameter
A
AP chest diameter equal to lateral. slope of ribs more horizontal (90 deg) to spine
-COPD, asthma, cystic fibrosis, lung hyperinflation, geri
6
Q
tachypnea
A
rate > 20 breaths /min
- fever, anxiety, hypoxemia, restrictive lung disease
- magnitude of increased above normal rate reflects increased WOB
7
Q
Kussmaul RR
A
- regular, rapid, deep RR
- metabolic acidosis
- increases CO2 excretion
8
Q
cyanosis
A
- bluish color of skin best seen in lips and on the palpebral conjuctiva (inside the lower eyelid)
- reflects 5-6g of hemoglobin not bound with O2, decrease O2 transfer in lungs, decreased cardiac output
- nonspecific, unreliable
9
Q
finger clubbing
A
- increased depth, bulk, sponginess of distal portion of finger
- chronic hypoxemia, cystic fibrosis, lung cancer, bronchiectasis
10
Q
abdominal paradox
A
- inward (vs outward) movement of abdomen during inspiration
- inefficient and ineffective breathing pattern
- nonspecific indicator of severe respiratory distress
11
Q
tracheal deviation
A
- leftward or rightward movement of trachea from normal midline position
- nonspecific indicator of change in position of mediastinal structures
- med emergency if caused by tension pneumothorax (trachea, deviates to side opposite collapsed lung)
12
Q
altered tactile fremitus
A
- increase/decrease in vibration
- increase in pneumonia, pulmonary edema, decrease in pleural effusion, lung hyperinflation
- absent in pneumothorax, atelectasis
13
Q
altered chest movement
A
- unusual movement caused by atelectasis, pneumothorax, pleural effusion, splinting
- equal but diminished movement = barrel chest, restrictive disease, neuromuscular disease
14
Q
fine crackles
A
- discontinuous, short duration, high-pitched sounds -end of insp/ alveoli suddenly snap open “rolling hair between fingers”
- interstitial edema, alveolar filling (pneumonia), loss of lung vol (atelectasis), HF early , pulmonary fibrosis
15
Q
coarse crackles
A
- long-duration , discont, low-pitched , occluded by mucus, evident on inspiration and expiration
- “blowing through straw under water”
- excess fluid in lungs, HF, pulm edema, pneumonia with severe congestion, COPD
