Physio Assessment

Question 1

IPPA: - What do you do for inspection?

Answer 1

• Lines and values on monitors (RR, HR, SpO2, BP)
• Position of patient
• Head (facial expression, orientation, speech, skin (pallor, cyanosis, scars), lips (colour, pursed lip breathing), nose)
• Neck (accessory muscle use, jugular vein distension)
• Chest (scars, chest wall deformities (barrel, pigeon, kyphosis, scoliosis), muscle wasting, what type of breather are they (apical, diaphragmatic, intercostal indwelling), chest movement/breathing pattern (RR)
• eupnea? tachypnea? hyperpnea? bradypnea? apnea? cheyne stokes?
• limbs (colour, clubbing of fingers, edema (how much?))
• cough (weak vs. strong, productive vs. non-productive)
• sputum (colour (green/yellow infection, brown old blood, white notmal, red/pink new blood), smell, amount, texture (thick vs. viscous))