JoVE Science Education
Physical Examinations I
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JoVE Science Education Physical Examinations I
Percussion
  • 00:00Overview
  • 01:25Types of Percussion
  • 03:10Indirect Percussion Notes
  • 04:49Indirect Percussion Steps
  • 06:23Factors Affecting Percussion Notes
  • 07:59Summary

打击乐

English

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Overview

来源:Jaideep S.Talwalkar,MD、 内科、 儿科,耶鲁大学医学院,纽黑文,康涅狄格

简单地说,打击乐指罢工反对另一种产生声音的一个对象。在 18 世纪初,奥地利客栈老板的儿子,名叫利奥波德 Auenbrugger 发现,他可以利用他父亲的啤酒桶用他的手指的库存。年后,而在维也纳行医,他将此技术应用到他的病人,发表首先描述了打击乐在 1761 年诊断实用程序。他的发现褪成默默无闻,直到的时代,在这伟大的注意力集中在诊断的准确性,在床边,著名的法国医生让 · 尼古拉斯 Corvisart 于 1808 年,重新发现他的著作。1

有三种类型的打击乐。Auenbrugger 和 Corvisart 依靠直接敲击,其中 plexor (即攻) 手指直接打击病人的身体。一般多今天使用一种间接的方法。在间接的打击乐,plexor 手指触击 pleximeter,通常是放置在病人的身体非优势手的中指。考官的手指敲 pleximeter (或直接针对病人的身体表面),声波生成。如果使用间接的打击乐,重要的所得到的资料在 pleximeter 手指振动。2打击乐,听诊打击乐器,第三类依赖于临床医生用听诊器来辨别声音由 plexor 手指的差异。

底层的打击乐站点结构的密度确定基调的打击乐音符;结构比较致密,安静的说明。注意到不同的相对强度、 纵倾和持续时间,并帮助确定什么是皮肤表面之下的考官。知识的什么身体上的特定位置应该听起来像,结合一种具体的临床情况,详情可以帮助临床医生确定敲击笔记对某个特定病人是否正常。

Procedure

1.病人接触前 保持指甲干净、 整齐,和修剪。 用肥皂和水清洗双手或应用局部消毒液。 在接触病人前作为能 (例如,用温水或由搓在一起) 温暖你的手。 2.考试的组成部分 理论上讲,打击乐可以利用对任何身体的一部分,但它是临床上最有用的胸部和腹部检查。请参阅个别视频以了解如何打击乐专门利用这些地区。<…

Applications and Summary

This video covers the general considerations related to percussion during the physical examination. The routine incorporation of percussion into the physical examination revolutionized bedside diagnostics in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and it still holds high value in the detection of common thoracic and abdominal pathology, such as hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, pleural effusion, pneumothorax, and ascites. An understanding of the positioning, pressure, and movements required by the plexor and pleximeter fingers is critical to successful percussion. Similarly, knowledge of the factors that can impact percussion notes is important to enable proper interpretation of findings. Practice with attention to auditory and tactile input helps the clinician develop mastery of the way different percussion notes (tympanitic, hyperresonant, resonant, dull, and flat) sound and feel, allowing differentiation of gas-filled, liquid, and solid structures. Percussion remains an important technique that enables clinicians to evaluate deep anatomic structures that are not visible.

References

  1. Nuland, S.B. Doctors: The Biography of Medicine. Vintage Books, New York (1988).
  2. McGee, S. Evidence-based Physical Diagnosis. 3rd ed., Elsevier, Philadelphia (2012).

Transcript

Percussion is a commonly used clinical skill that is most useful in the examinations of the chest and abdomen. Simply stated, percussion refers to the striking of one object against another to produce sound.

The discovery of percussion’s usefulness in medicine dates back to the 1700s. In former years of this century, an Austrian innkeeper’s son, named Leopold Auenbrugger, discovered that he could take inventory by tapping his father’s beer barrels with his fingers. Then, in 1761, while practicing medicine, he applied this technique on his patients and published the first description of the diagnostic utility of percussion. However, his findings faded into obscurity until the French physician, Jean-Nicolas Corvisart, in 1808, rediscovered Auenbrugger’s writings and used them to teach percussion to his medical students. Since then this technique has become an integral part of day-to-day clinical practice.

This video will first illustrate the types of percussion and the commonly heard percussion notes. Then, we’ll go over the procedure and considerations for performing this technique during a physical examination.

There are several types of medical percussion techniques. The historic type is ‘direct percussion’ in which the plexor-that is the tapping finger-strikes directly against the patient’s body, but this method is obsolete and is no longer employed in clinical practice. It has been supplanted by ‘indirect percussion’ in which the plexor finger strikes a pleximeter, which is typically the middle finger of the non-dominant hand placed against the patient’s body.

The third type is the ‘auscultatory percussion’, which relies on using a stethoscope to discern differences in sounds created by the plexor finger. Auscultatory percussion is a commonly used alternative method to assess liver size using the ‘liver scratch test’. With the stethoscope held over the patient’s liver, the examiner gently scratches the patient’s skin while listening for changes in sound quality as the plexor finger makes its way over the liver edge.

Another percussion technique is called the ‘fist percussion’, which is performed using the ulnar aspect of the plexor fist. Again, this can be performed either directly against the patient’s body, or by using an indirect method in which the examiner’s non-plexor hand is placed palm down on the patient’s body wall and the plexor fist strikes the dorsum of the hand to attenuate the force of the blow. Here, the examiner’s motion should be brisk with movement originating at the elbow, and it is critical to deliver the right amount of force-enough to uncover tenderness in a patient with pathology, but not so much to cause undue discomfort or pain in a patient without any disease.

Now, let’s talk about the notes normally heard while performing indirect percussion. The percussion notes differ in relative intensity, pitch, and duration depending on the density of the underlying structure.

A tympanitic sound is loud, high-pitched, and longer in duration than other sounds. It is normally heard over parts of the gastrointestinal tract that contain air, such as the stomach. A resonant note is also loud, but low-pitched, and long in duration. It is normally heard over the lung tissue. A dull note is medium in intensity, pitch and duration, and it appears over solid organs like the liver. A flat percussion note is soft, high-pitched, short and therefore hard to listen to. This note can be appreciated by percussing over the extremely dense quadriceps muscles, but percussing in this location holds no clinical utility. However, if a flat note is heard over the lungs, it may indicate pleural effusion, and if heard over a protruded abdomen it may indicate ascites. Another pathological percussion sound is hyperresonance, which, as compared to the resonant sound, is louder in intensity, lower in pitch and longer in duration. Hyperresonant sounds on lung percussion may indicate pneumothorax or chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder.

Now that you know about the types of notes heard during indirect percussion, let’s briefly review the general steps for performing this technique. Before starting with the exam, make sure that your fingernails are clean, groomed, and trimmed. Wash your hands with soap and water, or apply topical disinfectant solution. Warm your hands with warm water or by rubbing them together before patient contact.

To percuss, place the pleximeter finger firmly against the body surface being examined. Make sure the entire distal phalanx is in contact with the patient, but the rest of the fingers should be splayed out to avoid making contact, as this could dampen the sound. With the tip of the plexor, strike the distal interphalangeal joint of the pleximeter using a quick, relaxed, snapping motion from the wrist. After the strike, lift plexor finger rapidly to avoid sound dampening.

In addition to the sounds, note the amount of vibration in the pleximeter. The differences in vibration are subtle and require keen attention and practice to appreciate. The gas-filled structures might lead to more movement of the pleximeter finger, whereas the solid or liquid-filled regions may cause decreased vibration. During any physical exam, percuss at each point a few times in rapid succession to ensure consistency of notes before moving to the next spot.

In addition to performing percussion accurately, one must also pay attention to a few other factors that might affect the percussion notes.

Make sure percussion is done directly on the patient’s skin. Performing percussion on the patient with clothing on is impermissible. While the use of gloves might be necessary for infection control purposes, in cases where gloves are necessary, the clinician must account for the difference in the way the percussion note will “feel” on the pleximeter finger, because the vibrations will feel different.

Note that the pressure applied with the pleximeter finger affects the percussion note. Inadequate pressure can cause artificial dullness, and more pressure can augment the sound. Also, the force with which the plexor strikes may affect the interpretation of one’s findings. Striking more forcefully with the plexor finger is rarely helpful, though striking too lightly can also lead to artificial dullness. Remember that the percussion notes and vibrations are also impacted by the subcutaneous fat, which, if excess, may dampen the movement of the pleximeter. Finally, when examining a particular area of the body, maintain a consistency in the technique. To optimally compare sounds from one region to another, keep the amount of pressure with the pleximeter finger, the force with the plexor, the strike spot, and the part of the plexor finger used, all the same throughout the exam.

You’ve just watched JoVE’s video on percussion performed during a physical examination. This presentation covered the types of percussion procedures, the commonly witnessed percussion notes, the technique and factors that may affect the findings of this procedure. Percussion revolutionized bedside diagnostics in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and it still remains an important method that enables clinicians to evaluate deep anatomic structures that cannot be visually inspected. As always, thanks for watching!

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JoVE Science Education Database. JoVE Science Education. Percussion. JoVE, Cambridge, MA, (2023).