Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Hospital-acquired pneumonia physical examination
Introduction
Overview
Overview
Physical examination is important in diagnosing hospital-acquired pneumonia, finding include fever, tachypnea, rhonchi, crackles and wheezes. For ventilator-associated pneumonia, a deterioration in ventilator parameters such as, tachypnea, decreased tidal volume, increased minute ventilation, or decreased oxygen saturation could be the first indicators of a new onset ventilator-associated pneumonia.[1]
Physical Examination
Physical Examination
|
Vitals
- Decreased oxygen saturation
- Fever
- Hypotension < 90 mm Hg
- Tachycardia > 125 beats/min
- Tachypnea
Lungs
Palpation
- Increased tactile fremitus
Percussion
- Dullness on percussion
Auscultation
- Decreased breath sounds
- Bronchial breath sounds
- Rhonchi
- Crackles, Rales
- Increased vocal fremitus
References
References
- ↑ Koenig, S. M.; Truwit, J. D. (2006). “Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention”. Clinical Microbiology Reviews. 19 (4): 637–657. doi:10.1128/CMR.00051-05. ISSN 0893-8512.
- ↑ Russell, G. (2001). “Community acquired pneumonia”. Archives of Disease in Childhood. 85 (6): 445–446. doi:10.1136/adc.85.6.445. ISSN 0003-9888.
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Alejandro Lemor, M.D. [2]