How to Perform a general chest exam on a patient

There's no better way to learn then by visual media, and that's what makes this video lesson on performing a chest exam so great. It's perfect for any future doctor, and great for nursing students to understand the proper procedure for examining a patient's chest. Medical students can easily learn how to perform a general chest exam, because ever step and technique is outlined and shown. A chest examination is very important to determining what's wrong with your patient, and you will be able to identify the significance of a positive finding in any of the tests performed.

General:

* Patient in gown or loosely dressed

* ALWAYS examine sequentially from side to side

Pulmonary Inspection:

* Identify the oblique and horizontal fissures

* Look for asymmetry and deformity of the chest wall and trachea

* Observe rate, rhythm, depth, and effort of breathing

* Look for and stated significance of increased A/P diameter

Pulmonary Palpation:

* Palpate the anterior, posterior, and lateral chest

* Identify areas of tenderness

Special Considerations:

* Chest expansion

* Tactile fremitus

Pulmonary Percussion:

* Place distal middle finger against chest and tapping smartly with opposite middle finger produced a good percussion "note"

* Percuss a minimum 6 anterior points

* Percuss a minimum 4 posterior points

* Percuss a minimum 1 lateral point bilaterally

* Identify lobes of each lung bilaterally

Special Considerations:

* Diaphragmatic excursion

Pulmonary Auscultation:

* Auscultate a minimum 6 anterior points

* Auscultate a minimum 4 posterior points

* Auscultate a minimum 1 lateral point bilaterally

* Identify lobes of each lung bilaterally

* Be able to articulate a description of: rales/crackles; wheezes; rhonchi; abnormal I/E ratio

Special Considerations:

* Egophony

Peak Flow Monitoring:

* Use correct technique with Peak Flow Meter

* Repeat 3 times and record highest reading