Respiratory Exam Flashcards
Major pulmonary symptoms
Dyspnea
Hemoptysis
Cough
Chest pain
Dyspnea
Shortness of breath or windedness out of proportion for the activity.
As opposed to fatigue or tiredness
Dyspnea differential diagnosis
Respiratory:
- Airways (upper/lower)
- Parenchyma (fluid, fibrosis, inflammation)
- Circulation (blood clot)
- Pleura (fluid, malignancy, pneumothorax)
- Chest wall (kyphoscoliosis)
- Muscles (generalized, diaphragm)
Cardiac:
- Heart failure
- Silent angina
Other:
- Anemia
- Acidosis
- Psychogenic
Ways to ask about dyspnea
What to ask about a cough?
What causes a cough?
Cough receptors line the entire respiratory tract from sinuses to pleura.
May begin as a URI or post-nasal drip, but may also be reflective of life threatening diseases ranging from cancer to pneumonia.
White (mucoid) or clear sputum differential diagnosis
Asthma
Chronic bronchitis
Purulent sputum differential diagnosis
Pneumonia
Acute bronchitis
bronchiectasis
____ is not the same as no sputum.
Swallowing sputum is not the same as no sputum. Just because you don’t cough it up doesn’t mean it isn’t there.
What to ask about hemoptysis?
Hemoptysis vs Hematemasis
Hemoptysis: Coughing up blood or bloody mucus (respiratory origin)
Hematemasis: Vomitting up blood (gastric origin)
Angina differential diagnosis
Hemoptysis differential diagnosis
Infection
Infarction
Cancer
Vasculitis
Heart failure
Barrel chest
Percussion technique