Advanced Health
Assessment –
Respiratory | Study
Guide, Practice Questions
& Exam Review
|Guaranteed success|
, order of respiratory assessment inspect, palpate, percuss, auscultate
regular respiratory rate 14-20 breaths per minute
AP diameter may increase with age; may increase in COPD
Testing chest expansion thumbs at level of 10th rib feeling for symmetry during expansion and
contraction
Percussion sets chest wall and underlying tissues in motion, producing audible sound and
palpable vibration to establish if underlying tissues are air-filled, fluid filled, or
solid; notes: flat, dull, resonant, hyperresonant, and tympanitic
Percussion Technique hyperextend pleximeter finger and strike with tip of opposite middle finger with
a quick, sharp but relaxed wrist motion in a ladder-like pattern
Auscultation most important examination technique for assessing air flow through the
tracheobronchial tree involves: 1)listening to the sounds 2) adventious sounds,
and 3) patients spoken or whispered voice
vesicular soft and low pitched, they are heard through inspiration, continue without
pause through expiration, and then fade away about 1/3 of the way through
expiration; inspiratory sounds last longer than expiratory; heard over most of
both lungs
bronchovesicular inspiratory and expiratory sounds about equal in length; at times separated by
a silent interval; intermediate pitch heard often in the 1st and 2nd interspaces
anteriorly and between the scapulae
bronchial louder, harsher, and higher in pitch with a short silence between inspiratory and
expiratory sounds; expiratory (louder) last longer than inspiratory heard over
the manubrium (large proximal airways)
tracheal very loud, harsh sounds; inspiratory and expiratory sounds are about equal with
very loud intensity of expiratory sound; high pitch
pulmonary function tests six minute walk test
Assessment –
Respiratory | Study
Guide, Practice Questions
& Exam Review
|Guaranteed success|
, order of respiratory assessment inspect, palpate, percuss, auscultate
regular respiratory rate 14-20 breaths per minute
AP diameter may increase with age; may increase in COPD
Testing chest expansion thumbs at level of 10th rib feeling for symmetry during expansion and
contraction
Percussion sets chest wall and underlying tissues in motion, producing audible sound and
palpable vibration to establish if underlying tissues are air-filled, fluid filled, or
solid; notes: flat, dull, resonant, hyperresonant, and tympanitic
Percussion Technique hyperextend pleximeter finger and strike with tip of opposite middle finger with
a quick, sharp but relaxed wrist motion in a ladder-like pattern
Auscultation most important examination technique for assessing air flow through the
tracheobronchial tree involves: 1)listening to the sounds 2) adventious sounds,
and 3) patients spoken or whispered voice
vesicular soft and low pitched, they are heard through inspiration, continue without
pause through expiration, and then fade away about 1/3 of the way through
expiration; inspiratory sounds last longer than expiratory; heard over most of
both lungs
bronchovesicular inspiratory and expiratory sounds about equal in length; at times separated by
a silent interval; intermediate pitch heard often in the 1st and 2nd interspaces
anteriorly and between the scapulae
bronchial louder, harsher, and higher in pitch with a short silence between inspiratory and
expiratory sounds; expiratory (louder) last longer than inspiratory heard over
the manubrium (large proximal airways)
tracheal very loud, harsh sounds; inspiratory and expiratory sounds are about equal with
very loud intensity of expiratory sound; high pitch
pulmonary function tests six minute walk test
