The document outlines the focused history and physical exam for a patient presenting with cough. The history should explore the characteristics, exacerbating/alleviating factors, associated symptoms, severity, timing, and relevant past medical, social, and family history of the cough. The physical exam includes vital signs, general appearance, and focused examination of the head/ears/eyes/nose/throat, chest/lungs, cardiovascular system, and other areas as needed.
The document outlines the focused history and physical exam for a patient presenting with cough. The history should explore the characteristics, exacerbating/alleviating factors, associated symptoms, severity, timing, and relevant past medical, social, and family history of the cough. The physical exam includes vital signs, general appearance, and focused examination of the head/ears/eyes/nose/throat, chest/lungs, cardiovascular system, and other areas as needed.
The document outlines the focused history and physical exam for a patient presenting with cough. The history should explore the characteristics, exacerbating/alleviating factors, associated symptoms, severity, timing, and relevant past medical, social, and family history of the cough. The physical exam includes vital signs, general appearance, and focused examination of the head/ears/eyes/nose/throat, chest/lungs, cardiovascular system, and other areas as needed.
History of Present Illness 1. Vital signs: Include temperature, consider pulsus paradoxus. Note: there is a “thoracic” set of questions you can ask for chest pain, cough, dyspnea. Note the 2. General appearance: How sick does patient similarities. look? 3. Systemic exam if systemic symptoms indicate. 1. Character/circumstance: Productive or not, hacking, hemoptysis. 4. HEENT: Nasal passage, sinuses, throat, adenopathy, neck veins if considering cardiac 2. Exacerbating/alleviating factors: Look for problem. triggers (e.g., only at work or after mowing lawn). Over the counter or prescription drugs. 5. Chest/lungs: Accessory muscle use, retractions, percussion, lung sounds. 3. Associated symptoms: 6. Cardiovascular: PMI size and location, heart ¾ Systemic: Fever, shaking chills, sweats, sounds (gallops, murmurs, or rubs). weight loss. ¾ Cardiac and pulmonary: Dyspnea, chest 7. Other parts of physical exam as indicated. pain. ¾ HEENT: Sneezing, postnasal drip. ¾ Gastrointestinal: Heartburn. 4. Severity: Affecting work or sleep? Causing syncope or incontinence? 5. Timing: ¾ Pattern: acute or chronic, constant or intermittent? ¾ Onset? ¾ Duration? ¾ Why is patient coming in now? 6. Relevant past medical history: Asthma, atopy, drug allergies (always), currently taking or recently run out of any medications, exposure to TB or other infectious diseases? 7. Relevant social history: Travel or immigration, occupation and hobbies (i.e., glue or chemical exposures), alcohol or tobacco use, new pets or rugs, etc. What is patient’s concern? 8. Relevant family history: Atopy, asthma, eczema, TB exposure.