Eur Respir J, 1995, 8, 1584–1593 Copyright ERS Journals Ltd 1995

DOI: 10.1183/09031936.95.08091584 European Respiratory Journal

Printed in UK - all rights reserved ISSN 0903 - 1936

SERIES 'CHEST PHYSICAL EXAMINATION'

Edited by J.C. Yernault

Physical examination of the adult patient

with respiratory diseases: inspection and palpation

B. Maitre, T. Similowski, J-P. Derenne

Physical examination of the adult patient with respiratory diseases: inspection and pal- Service de Pneumologie et de Réanimation,
pation. B. Maitre, T. Similowski, J-P. Derenne. ©ERS Journals Ltd 1995. Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris,
ABSTRACT: Inspection of the thorax identifies the breathing position adopted by France.
the patient, the shape of the thorax, the dynamics of respiration (breathing pat-
tern, symmetry of expansion, mechanics and synchrony of rib cage and abdominal Correspondence: T. Similowski
movements). Inspection of the neck adds useful information, particularly with Service de Pneumologie et de Réanimation
respect to the dynamics of breathing. Palpation ascertains the signs suggested by Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière
47-83 Bd de l'Hôpital
inspection with respect to the mechanics of breathing. It also assesses the state of 75651 Paris Cedex 13
the pleura and pulmonary parenchyma by studying the tactile fremitus. It inte- France
grates extrarespiratory signs, such as enlarged lymph nodes or breast abnorma-
lities. Extrathoracic respiratory signs should also be systematically looked for, Keywords: Clinical examination
including cyanosis, finger deformation, pulsus paradoxus, and pursed lips breath- inspection
ing. palpation
Interobserver agreement about respiratory signs has repeatedly been studied, and respiratory system
generally found to be low, as are clinical-functional correlations. However, some
data on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma or pulmonary Received: January 3 1995
embolism are available. From the description of some signs and the current know- Accepted after revision March 31 1995
ledge about their operative values, it appears that much clinical research remains
necessary to better define the precise diagnostic value of a given sign. The impact
of training on diagnostic performance also has to be defined. Both of these aspects
should allow clinicians to optimize the way in which they use their hands and eyes
to conduct respiratory diagnosis, as well as the way they teach respiratory symp-
tomatology.
Eur Respir J., 1995, 8, 1584–1593

Signs brought to light by inspection and palpation of [3], at times, define a clinical pattern characteristic enough
the thorax are among the basics of the process of respi- for the clinician who is aware of them to raise the ques-
ratory diagnosis, and make a large contribution to the tion of COPD after a simple look.
evaluation of respiratory status. Although they are only However, physical signs are evaluated on the basis of
part of an ensemble including other respiratory clinical "norms" stemming from clinical examination of a large
data, chest radiography, pulmonary function tests, and number of patients. Therefore, their diagnostic and
various diagnostic tools, these signs have a major intrin- pronostic value depends upon the physician's training and
sic value. They can be present notwithstanding normal background. How these factors affect "respiratory" inspec-
chest radiography or pulmonary function tests, and they tion and palpation is ill-known. To begin with, although
may be sufficient to initiate immediate life-saving actions. few studies have addressed this issue in a systematic
For example, removal of air from a tension pneumo- manner, reproducibility of pulmonary physical examina-
thorax can be decided on the simple observation of dis- tion seems low [4–6]. For example, GJORUP et al. [7]
tension and immobility of a hemithorax, in the context reported interobserver variations in the assessment of
of acute shock and impaired venous return in a mechani- respiratory signs. They compared the results of inde-
cally-ventilated patient. The decision to start mechani- pendent clinical observations by two physicians. Among
cal ventilatory support in a patient with acute respiratory the 11 signs studied, none arose from palpation and only
failure (ARF) of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease one from inspection ("decreased breath movements").
(COPD) usually relies on the conjunction of physical The kappa value (which describes the degree of agree-
signs witnessing hypoxaemia (cyanosis), hypercapnia ment between several observers evaluating a given popu-
(confusion, flapping tremor), or dysfunction of the res- lation, and ranges from 0=no agreement to 1=full
piratory pump (rapid shallow breathing, asynchronous agreement [8, 9]), for this sign was 0.14, the lowest repor-
thoracoabdominal motion...). Advanced COPD is asso- ted in the study. In a similarly designed study, SPITERI
ciated with a series of changes in the shape and dynam- et al. [10] compared the evaluation of physical signs
ics of the thorax [1, 2]. The corresponding physical signs by six sets of four physicians examining a total of 24
 I N S P E C T I O N A N D PA L PAT I O N O F T H E R E S P I R ATO RY S Y S T E M 1585

patients. Only 55% of the time were the four physicians Inspection and palpation of the thorax
in complete agreement, and the more often a given obser-
ver departed from the majority with respect to a given
sign, the more likely was he to make an incorrect diag- Inspection of the rib cage
nosis. Among signs elicited by inspection and palpa-
tion, only finger clubbing had a "correct" kappa value
(0.45). Reduced chest movements, cyanosis, prolonged Inspection of the rib cage provides three types of infor-
expiration, impalpable apex beat, cricosternal distance, mation: the breathing position adopted by the patient,
tachypnoea, decreased tactile fremitus, increased tactile the shape of the thorax, the dynamics of respiration.
fremitus, and displaced trachea were seldom agreed upon,
with kappa value from 0.01–0.38 [10]. Position. Orthopnoea is often considered suggestive of
Furthermore, not only are chest physical signs poor- left heart failure. However, it is not specific, and patients
ly reproducible from one clinician to another, but their with asthma or acute airflow obstruction tend to sit and
meaning when present is often imprecise. Sensibility even to bend forward to breathe. Patients with COPD
and specificity of these signs are generally unknown, and often choose a position in which they can support their
few studies describe correlations between physical signs arms and fix the muscles of the shoulder and neck to aid
and physiological measurements or morphological find- respiration. They sometimes clasp the sides of the bed
ings. Such information can, in part, be found, princi- and use the dorsal muscles to help overcome the increased
pally in patients with COPD [3, 11–16]. inspiratory burden to respiration.
The present paper is not intended to describe in detail
a comprehensive list of physical signs. Rather, it attempts
to stress the clinical significance and diagnostic relevance Shape of the thorax. A large variety of thoracic mal-
of the main signs, and to summarize data available in formations, most often congenital, can be detected by
some clinical entities. inspection. Pectus excavatum, or funnel chest, consists
of a depression of the sternum with anterior protrusion
of the ribs. Pectus carinatum is the reverse deformity,
General principles in which the sternum protrudes anteriorly. Kyphosco-
liosis is the result of an abnormal curvature of the tho-
Suitable inspection and palpation of the respiratory sys- racic spine, with a combination of anteroposterior and
tem require the patient's chest, neck and abdomen to be lateral deviations. Clinical examination is of little value
appropriately exposed. The front of the thorax is best for a quantitative approach to kyphoscoliosis, which re-
examined in the supine position, and its back in the sit- lies on chest radiography and determination of the Cobb
ting or standing position. A patient who has difficulty angle.
in sitting upright unaided, can be supported by someone In most cases, identifying such malformation has no
standing at the foot of the bed and holding his/her hands. particular consequence, but, under certain circumstances,
In patients who are too sick to stand or sit, examination it implies particular actions. For example, doubt about
of the back of the thorax requires that the patient be the true congenital nature of pectus carinatus should raise
rolled on one side and then the other [17]. the question of a cardiac malformation [18]. The diag-
Whatever the clinical context in which it takes place, nosis of kyphoscoliosis should be associated with detail-
ed evaluation of respiratory status, to serve as a basis for
clinical examination of the chest is comparative in nature.
Each region of one side should be compared with the the subsequent follow-up.
same region on the other side. This is of particular impor- The thorax can also change shape in response to acqui-
tance when characterizing rib cage movements. It has red diseases. Acute hyperinflation is a feature of asth-
to be borne in mind that, for a correct respiratory diag- ma, but its characterization is highly subjective and
nosis, physical examination should not be restricted to impossible to quantify. Dynamic elements (see below)
the thorax and neck: inspection and palpation of the lower are probably better indicators of distension. An increase
limbs are of major importance when pulmonary embo- in the anteroposterior (AP) diameter can be seen in
lism is suspected, inspection of the hands is at times rele- advanced COPD. The AP diameter tends to become
vant to the diagnosis of malignant processes developing close to the lateral diameter, which defines the barrel
in the chest. chest configuration. The ribs lose their normal 45° angle
It should also be noted that "respiratory" inspection is and become more horizontal [1]. Kyphosis often accom-
panies this deformation in COPD. It should be noted
a dynamic process: it starts long before the beginning of
that the barrel chest configuration of the thorax is not
physical examination itself, and continues throughout.
specific to COPD, and can be observed as a mere con-
Some elements appear at first glance, such as obvious
sequence of ageing effects.
respiratory distress, nasal flaring (the outward inspira-
tory motion of the nares), pursed lip breathing (see below).
History taking is propitious to the observation of breath- Dynamics of respiration. Inspection will 1) specify brea-
ing pattern and various phenomena (such as cough, sighs, thing frequency and pattern, 2) examine symmetry in the
expression of pain accompanying respiration or cough, expansion of the right and left hemithorax, and 3) char-
hiccups...) devoid of the influence of the examination acterize the mechanics of rib cage and abdominal linked
itself on these elements. movements.
1586 B . M A I T R E , T. S I M I L O W S K I , J - P. D E R E N N E

1. Breathing pattern. In adults, the normal respiratory expansion) and "rib cage" breaths. This pattern of breath-
rate ranges 10–14 breaths·min-1; the term bradypnoea de- ing has been attributed to developing respiratory pump
picting an abnormally slow breathing frequency, and failure [20] (see below). Hoover's sign [21] consists of
tachypnoea or polypnoea an abnormally rapid one. Al- a paradoxical inward displacement of the costal margin
though it is very difficult to estimate tidal volume from at the end of inspiration or throughout inspiration. A
observation of the chest and abdomen expansions, par- biphasic aspect can be observed, with the costal margin
ticularly when patients mainly use their diaphragm to initially going out, then in, and then out again at the
inspire [17], polypnoea is generally used to characterize onset of expiration [3]. Hoover's sign is observed in
rapid shallow breathing. Hyperpnoea, on the other hand, chronic airway obstruction. It is interpreted as a reflec-
is used when the depth of breathing is markedly increas- tion of the effects of hyperinflation, which modifies
ed. Whereas polypnoea can be present in many clinical diaphragm action on the lower rib cage via a reduction
situations, hyperpnoea seems to be a reliable sign of me- of the zone of apposition. However, Hoover's sign has
tabolic acidosis. It is most often combined with a cert- not, to our knowledge, been systematically studied with
ain degree of tachypnoea (Kussmaul breathing). Certain reference to pulmonary volume or diaphragmatic func-
conditions have been associated with particular breath- tion. The loss of the bucket-handle movement of the
ing patterns. Biot's pattern [19] consists of irregular ribs about the vertebrosternal axis with exaggeration of
breathing with prolonged apnoeas. It can be seen as a the pump-handle movement about the axis of the neck,
consequence of increased intracranial pressure, central is also observed in airway obstruction with hyperinfla-
nervous system lesions at the medullary level, drug- tion [3]. However, two studies agree on the lack of cor-
induced comas. Cheyne-Stokes breathing [19] consists relation of this pattern with the degree of obstruction [11,
of a progressive increase and then a progressive decrease 15].
of breathing frequency and depth, alternating with peri-
ods of apnoeas. It is associated with metabolic or drug-
induced encephalopathies, severe congestive heart failure, Inspection of the neck
and central nervous system damage at the cerebral level.
Inspection of the neck cannot be dissociated from that
2. Symmetry of the expansion of the thorax. Asynchrony of the thorax. Accessory inspiratory muscle hypertro-
and asymmetry of expansion between the two hemitho- phy and activation can be seen when intense. Cyclical
races can be observed in diseases of the lung or pleura. inspiratory contraction of the scalene muscles has been,
It can relate to acute disease, such as atelectasis, pneu- described by MAGENDIE [22], who termed it "respiratory
monia, or pleurisy. Only in complete pneumothorax or pulse". In their classical paper, BEAU and MAISSIAT [23]
massive atelectasis is it associated with a marked change used this term in a different context: they applied it to
of the volume of one hemithorax. Chronic atelectasis or contraction of the sternomastoid, and further stated that
long-standing fibrotic process of the pleura can lead to during asthma only the sternomastoid and not the sca-
spinal curvature, with concavity to the diseased side and lene muscles were contracting. This does not appear to
head inclination toward this same side. A local lag dur- have been confirmed by recent studies, and does not
ing inspiration can be difficult to ascertain during quiet seem very likely as the scalene muscles appear to be
breathing, and is best manifested by asking the patients recruited before the sternomastoid muscles [24]. Respi-
to breathe in deeply [17]. ratory pulse may be present in severe chronic airflow
obstruction, when obstruction acutely increases, or in
3. Mechanics and synchrony of rib cage and abdomi- any situation where ventilatory needs are markedly aug-
nal movements. Normally, during quiet breathing, rib mented.
cage movements are of small amplitude. Expansion of In patients with chronic airways obstruction in stable
the upper rib cage is not visible, and the costal margin state, the sternomastoid muscles can appear to be increased
moves outwards and upwards. Most of the displacement in volume, the skin clinging to their prominences and
corresponding to inspiration is due to an outward move- the floor of the posterior triangle. However, recent elec-
ment of the abdominal wall, which is synchronous with tromyographic data indicate that, whereas the scalene
the lower rib cage expansion. Normal expiration is pas- muscles are recruited during quiet breathing in most
sive. patients (and in normals), the sternomastoid muscles are
Several changes can be observed in this pattern and not [24]. Only in acute severe episodes will the latter
co-ordination. Predominant rib cage expansion during be activated. The term "retraction" of the sternomastoid
inspiration is abnormal, particularly if it is associated muscle is employed, when visible contraction of this
with asynchronous thoracoabdominal motion. Abdo- muscle lifts the clavicle during tidal inspiration. An
minal paradox is defined by indrawing of the abdomi- upward inspiratory motion of the clavicle exceeding 5
nal wall when the rib cage inflates. It is due to the mm has been associated with severe COPD [25]. In
abdominal pressure becoming negative rather than pos- acute asthma, this sign seems to be correlated to the
itive during inspiration, and is a sign of major diaphrag- severity of obstruction and appears when forced expira-
matic dysfunction. Respiratory alternans is a cyclic tory volume in one second (FEV1) falls below 1 L [26].
alteration in breathing movements, with an alternation Excavation (or retraction) of suprasternal and supra-
of "normal" breaths, where the diaphragm seems to clavicular fossae during inspiration is due to excessive
have the principal contribution to inspiration (abdominal swings of intrathoracic pressure and probably result from
 I N S P E C T I O N A N D PA L PAT I O N O F T H E R E S P I R ATO RY S Y S T E M 1587

a phase lag between the generation of negative pleural mechanical dysfunction of the respiratory pump are best
pressures and the resultant change in lung volume. detected and characterized by palpation. Tenuous abdom-
Although this sign has been associated with the presence inal paradox and Hoover's sign can be sensed by plac-
of airways obstruction [11], STUBBING et al. [15] have ing the hands flat on the abdomen or the costal margins
failed to find a significant correlation with any other and letting them move with the patients' respiration.
parameter than patients' age. Retraction of the intercostal Palpation of the abdomen also helps distinguish abdom-
spaces has the same meaning. It should not be confused inal paradox from abdominal muscle contraction, which
with Hoover's sign. is present not only when ventilatory needs are acutely
Tracheal descent can be seen, but tracheal movements increased but also in many stable COPD patients [30].
are better assessed by use of palpation (see below). A discordance is possible between electrical activity of
Neck veins distension can be part of the superior vena abdominal muscle and the impossibility to perceive it by
cava syndrome, and then associated with oedema of the palpation. This generally disappears when the contrac-
face, neck, shoulders and hands and, at times, dilatation tion becomes intense enough, namely when the respira-
of veins over the anterior chest wall. It can also be tory system has to face a markedly increased demand.
indicative of right heart failure. This sign can be det- CAMPBELL [3] has very precisely described the contribu-
ected at rest or can be induced: firm abdominal pressure tion of palpation to the description of movements of the
is applied for 10 s over the centre of the patient's abdomen upper ribs. To clinically detect the pump-handle move-
with the palm and fingers of the examiner's hand. An ment of the upper rib cage (see above), he recommends
elegant study by BUTMAN et al. [27] showed that, in "spreading the first and second fingers of each hand and
patients with severe chronic heart failure, the presence locking them on the top of the second or third rib ante-
of jugular venous distension is strongly correlated with riorly, placing the second finger as far laterally as the
an increased central venous pressure, and has a sensi- rib can be felt before it disappears under the shoulder
tivity of 81% and specificity of 80% to detect an eleva- muscles. Normally, the second (outer) finger swings out-
tion of the pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (>18 wards and upwards around the first finger during inspi-
mmHg). Jugular venous filling during expiration indi- ration and the first finger does not move much. In patients
cates that a positive pressure is present in the thorax, and with chronic airway obstruction the outer finger loses its
can be observed in patients with COPD. movement relative to the inner; in extreme cases the inner
finger moves upwards more than the outer". Another
method of assessing the pump handle movement of the
Palpation rib cage is to place the palm of one hand flat on the ster-
num; during inspiration in severe COPD, the hand moves
Cardiac impulse should be looked for during respira- upward rather than anteriorly as in normal subjects.
tory physical examination of the chest [28]. Impalpable The respiratory pulse (contraction of scalene muscles
apex beat is classically cited among clinical means to during inspiration, see above) can be felt by gently press-
diagnose emphysema [12, 29], but apex beat is not pal- ing the finger tips into the floor of the posterior triangle
pable in up to 50% of normal individuals. Deviation of of the neck. The sternomastoid muscles are examined
the location of the cardiac impulse is a sign of media- by drawing them backwards with the thumb and first
stinal shift, whatever its mechanism. A heave in the finger to feel the contraction. In the study by STUBBING
left parasternal region denotes right ventricular hyper- et al. [15] (see below), contraction of scalene muscles
trophy. closely correlated with the degree of obstruction and the
It should be noted that palpation of the thorax is also duration of symptoms, but not with the contraction of
of major interest in detecting enlarged lymph nodes, sternomastoid muscles, which is not present in most
breast abnormalities, cutaneous nodules, subcutaneous patients with severe COPD when they are in steady state.
emphysema, etc. Intercostal spaces and ribs should be
palpated to detect tumour masses and elicit pain to pres- Palpation of the trachea. The position of the trachea
sure. Nodes and masses in the neck and supraclavicu- can be determined by placing the index finger in the
lars areas are best assessed with the examiner positioned suprasternal notch and moving it slightly until the tra-
behind a sitting or standing patient. cheal cartilage is felt. Lateral deviation of the trachea
From a more specifically respiratory point of view, can bear witness of mediastinal shift. The distance
palpation of the thorax and neck provides two different between the thyroid cartilage and the sternal notch varies
types of information. On the one hand, it helps confirm from three to four fingerbreadths in normal subjects, and
the information suggested by inspection, essentially with is reduced or even null in severe chronic airways obstruc-
respect to contraction of the scalene muscles and tho- tion [3]. Interobserver concordance for this sign seems
racic mechanics. On the other hand, it gives informa- extremely low [10], as is its correlation with the degree
tion relevant to parenchymal and pleural diseases by of obstruction [15].
analysis of the tactile fremitus. Tracheal upward mobility is assessed as follows (tra-
cheal tug): the patient's head being slightly flexed and
Dynamics of respiration. A suspected lag detected on supported at the back by one hand, the other hand is
inspection of the chest is easily confirmed by placing placed parallel to the trachea with the palm facing out;
a hand on each hemithorax and asking the patient to the middle fingers slide into the crycothyroid space,
breathe deeply. Most of the aforementioned signs of and the larynx is pushed upward; the larynx and trachea
1588 B . M A I T R E , T. S I M I L O W S K I , J - P. D E R E N N E

normally move about 1–2 cm. Decreased tracheal mobil- Indeed, cyanosis generally appears at an arterial oxygen
ity can be related to fixation of the mediastinum by car- tension (Pa,O2) around 8.0 kPa (60 mmHg) (see below),
cinoma or fibrosis. An abnormal mobility of the trachea that corresponds to a reduced arterial haemoglobin con-
with cardiac systole can be seen in aortic aneurysm. centration of about 1.5 g·dL-1 [36]. A detailed account
Tracheal descent with inspiration [31] is best felt by of this debate has recently been given by MARTIN and
resting the tip of the index finger on the thyroid carti- KHALIL [37].
lage. This sign is not specific for chronic airways obstruc- Cyanosis usually reflects severe hypoxaemia, what-
tion and can be present in any respiratory distress. It ever its cause. However, anaemia can prevent cyanosis
represents an increased amplitude of the pleural pressure from appearing, and polycythemia can be responsible for
swings during respiration. There is a significant rela- cyanosis with moderate hypoxaemia.
tionship between the presence of Campbell's sign (inspi- Detection of this blue or bluish-grey colouration of the
ratory descent of the trachea) and severity of airflow skin and mucous membranes require adequate light (nat-
obstruction, age, and duration of symptoms [15]. ural daylight is ideal when available and standards for
clinical lighting have been defined [38, 39]) and is eas-
Tactile fremitus [19]. Posterior palpation of the thorax ier in the nailbeds or buccal mucosa. Cyanosis can be
during speech elicits the perception of vibrations that are particularly difficult to appreciate in coloured skins. It
called tactile fremitus. Their analysis relies heavily on is usual to distinguish central cyanosis, where the art-
left to right and top to bottom comparisons. Tactile erial blood leaving the left heart is inadequately oxy-
fremitus, which provides information about the density genated, and peripheral cyanosis, where haemoglobin
of the underlying lung tissue and chest cavity, can be desaturation occurs in tissue capillaries because of extreme
evaluated in two ways. The examiner can place the ulnar slowing of the bloodstream due to reduced cardiac out-
side of the hand against the patient's chest wall and ask put or vasoconstriction. Clinically, nailbeds are usually
the patient to say something. The use of a repeated num- deep blue and the skin warm in central cyanosis, where-
ber that causes good vibrations is traditional (most often as peripheral cyanosis is usually associated with cold
"ninety nine" in English speaking countries, "trente-trois" skin and livid nailbeds. Central cyanosis can be present
in France...). This has the advantage of "standardizing" in numerous different diseases, congenital (e.g. right-to-
the "input" to the "system", i.e. the thorax, that deter- left cardiac shunts) or acquired, acute (e.g. severe pul-
mines tactile fremitus, the "output". Finger tips can be monary oedema or pneumonia) or chronic (e.g. COPD).
used instead of the ulnar side of the hand. By moving Peripheral cyanosis is seen in the majority of conditions
the hand from side to side and from top to bottom, dif- with compromised haemodynamic status, with the excep-
ferences can be detected in the transmission of the sound. tion of septic shock, and given the level of haemoglo-
Increased tactile fremitus reflects increased density of bin is sufficient for cyanosis to appear. It is also a feature
the lung, e.g. consolidation by pneumonia or atelectasis. of diseases where peripheral vasomotor activity is impair-
Conversely, an excess of fat tissue on the chest, the pres- ed, such as scleroderma or Raynaud's disease. In these
ence of air or fluid in the pleura, or distension of the cases, it may disappear with warming of the cyanotic
lung, decreases tactile fremitus. Two studies suggest area. The administration of oxygen can correct central
that agreement about tactile fremitus being increased but not peripheral cyanosis.
or decreased is little better than chance [5, 10], with Atypical coloration of the skin, particularly if there is
kappa values of 0.11 and 0.01, respectively [10]. no clear cause for cyanosis, should lead to the consid-
eration of methaemoglobinaemia or sulph-haemoglobi-
naemia.
Extrathoracic respiratory signs (inspection and Identification of cyanosis is at times difficult. COMROE
palpation) and BOTELHO [40] long ago reported that a majority of
observers did not detect cyanosis until the arterial oxy-
gen saturation (Sa,O2) had fallen to 80%, one quarter fail-
Cyanosis ing to perceive it at Sa,O2 levels as low as 70%. A
summary of data available on this specific point was
Cyanosis is due to incomplete oxygenation of arterial given by MARTIN and KHALIL [37]. The study by GOSS
blood [32]. It appears when the concentration of reduced et al. [36], albeit its discussion appears flawed by the
haemoglobin exceeds 5 g·dL-1 of capillary blood [33]. aforementioned confusion on the location of the reduced
The capillary location of the reduced haemoglobin pro- haemoglobin responsible for cyanosis, provides interest-
ducing cyanosis is crucial, and was very clearly stated ing and recent data. Among 80 patients, these investi-
by LUNDSGAARD and VAN SLYKE [33] in their early descrip- gators found that presence of central cyanosis was well
tion: "It is the blood in the capillaries, and possibly in agreed upon by two independent observers (who diverged
the arterioles and venules of the subpapillary plexus as in only three out of 80 cases). All cyanosed patients
well, which produces the cyanotic skin color. The arter- (n=29) had a P a,O2 below 10.7 kPa (80 mmHg), the aver-
ies and most of the veins are so far away from the skin age value being 7.6±1.4 vs 10.3±1.7 kPa (57±10.4 vs
that their content cannot influence the skin color". Over- 81.3±12.7 mmHg) in the noncyanosed patients. Haemo-
looking this location and considering arterial instead of globin concentration was comparable in the two catego-
capillary blood has led several authors to mistakenly ries of patients. Cyanosis correctly identified all patients
state that the 5 g·dL-1 value was far too high [34–36]. with a Pa,O2 lower than 8.0 kPa (60 mmHg).
 I N S P E C T I O N A N D PA L PAT I O N O F T H E R E S P I R ATO RY S Y S T E M 1589

Paradoxic pulse tissues, that develops in association with other diseases.

HOA shares many causes with clubbing, to which it is
Inspiratory decline of the arterial pulse appeared in the very often associated, but may be more indicative of
description of asthma given by FLOYER at the beginning intrathoracic neoplasm. HOA is often painful, and, in
of the 18th century [41]. Subsequently, Kussmaul descri- contrast to clubbing, associated with radiological abnor-
bed it as a major manifestation of pericarditis [42]. Cur- malities, such as periosteal new bone formation, arth-
rently, the term paradoxic pulse refers to an inspiratory ritis-like changes in the joints and periarticular areas, as
decrease in systolic arterial pressure, which allows it to well as with increased thickness of the subcutaneous soft
be quantified. It has been noted in various conditions, tissue in the distal parts of the legs and arms and neu-
including cardiac tamponade due to tense pericardial rovascular changes of the hands and feet.
effusion, acute pulmonary embolism, acute airways ob-
struction. The mechanisms of paradoxic pulse may
differ between these clinical settings. In cardiac tam- Pursed lips breathing
ponade, it is thought that paradoxic pulse is a result of
competition between the right and left ventricle for fill-
ing [43]. Indeed, inspiration increases right ventricular It has long been shown that pursed-lips breathing
filling which in turn restricts left ventricular filling. as a breathing exercise in patients with emphysema has
In severe acute asthma, JARDIN et al. [44] have shown beneficial effects on blood gases and ventilatory measure-
ments: it decreases respiratory rate, increases tidal vol-
that large intrathoracic pressure variations, from a mar-
ume and lowers arterial carbon dioxide tension (P a,CO2)
kedly negative level during inspiration to a positive
[46, 47]. Spontaneous pursing of the lips during expi-
level during expiration, make an important contribution
ration is a common feature in patients with severe COPD
to paradoxic pulse by increasing impedance to right ven-
and emphysema. It is often interpreted as a means
tricular ejection, which results in a dramatically impaired
to increase intraluminal pressure of the airways and,
left ventricular stroke output via concomitant reduction
therefore, prevent their collapse at low lung volumes.
of left ventricular preload.
Its reliability as a physical sign of COPD remains to be
We did not find any data evaluating the interobserver
assessed.
variability of paradoxic pulse determination. Its corre-
lation to severity is discussed below (see Pulmonary
embolism).
Forced expiratory time [48, 49]

Finger deformation [45] This is a simple and reproducible test to detect air-
ways obstruction. The patient is asked to take a full
Clubbing and hypertrophic osteoarthropathy (HOA) breath in, and then to exhale with his mouth wide open.
are separate entities which have many similarities. Airflow cessation is judged from breath sound listened
Clubbing is the painless uniform focal enlargement of to at the mouth, or tracheal auscultation. Normal expi-
the connective tissue in the terminal phalanges of the ratory time is below 4 s in normals. It can be much pro-
digits, especially on the dorsal surface. It has little speci- longed in patients with chronic airflow obstruction.
ficity, being present in various intrathoracic diseases Interobserver agreement about forced expiratory time has
(e.g. bronchial cancer, cystic fibrosis, pulmonary in- been assessed in several studies [7, 14, 50]. SCHAPIRA
terstitial fibrosis, pneumoconiosis, and cardiovascular et al. [50] and GJORUP et al. [7] reported kappa values
diseases, such as congenital cyanotic diseases and endo- reaching 0.71, which is considered "substantial" agree-
carditis) but also in some extrathoracic disorders and, in ment [9]. However, the results of BADGETT et al. [14]
particular, hepatic or gastrointestinal diseases (e.g. pri- are less optimistic, with kappa values of 0.23 for a forced
mary biliary cirrhosis, inflammatory bowel diseases). expiratory time longer than 11 s ("fair" agreement). The
A comprehensive list of clubbing aetiologies can be found reason for this difference is not clear. Indeed, physi-
in the review by SCHNEERSON [45]. Different types of cians in the first study were untrained, whereas they were
clubbing have been described depending on the distrib- trained in the second. Among the factors affecting the
ution of the soft tissue swelling, and termed parrot's beak, variability of forced expiratory time, MCDONALD et al.
watchglass or drumstick. Diagnosis of clubbing is rel- [51] considered that interobserver agreement was of lit-
atively reliable. SPITERI et al. [10] reported that club- tle importance. The operating characteristics of forced
bing was one of the five physical signs upon which expiratory time have been studied [50, 52]. SCHAPIRA et
interobserver agreement was best, with a kappa value al. [50] have built a receiver operating characteristic
of 0.45. However, early clubbing can be difficult to (ROC) curve of the forced expiratory time as a diag-
ascertain, and it has been suggested that some "objec- nostic test for obstructive airways disease in a study of
tive" indices could be helpful. For example, the pha- 400 subjects (49% of whom had COPD). They reported
langeal depth ratio (between the distal phalangeal depth an area under the ROC curve of 0.61. At a cut-off value
and the interphalangeal depth) has been proposed. Its of 6 s, the sensitivity of the test was 74% and specifi-
clinical usefulness seems vague. city 75%. There seems to be a significant correlation
HOA is not as clearly defined as clubbing. It is a between this sign and the degree of obstruction [11, 49,
systemic disorder, affecting the bones, joints and soft 50].
1590 B . M A I T R E , T. S I M I L O W S K I , J - P. D E R E N N E

Illustration: physical signs in some clinical entities position" (a combination of the impalpable apex beat and
impaired cardiac dullness at percussion). This latter sign
Teaching of respiratory medicine associates signs or was the only one that correlated not only with FEV1 but
groups of signs to diseases. Having described some also with the degree of hyperinflation as assessed by
inspection and palpation signs of respiratory disease, it FRC (measured using the helium dilution technique).
seems interesting to ask the question of how indeed they Supraclavicular fossae recession, intercostal recession,
relate to functional or morphological data. Few such upper rib cage movement and tracheal length were not
designed studies are available, and most pertain to correlated with FEV1 or FRC.
COPD. The following few examples are intended to The third and the fourth study, by BADGETT et al. [14]
give a rapid overview of the value of signs with respect and HOLLEMAN et al. [55], provide operating character-
to their physiological foundations. istics of various signs, e.g. wheezing, cough, decreased
breath sounds, subxyphoid impulse, chest expansion,
forced expiratory time, etc. In a series of patients with
COPD a 16% prevalence of COPD, BADGETT et al. [14] report-
ed negative and positive predictive values of 85 and 54%
Because COPD is a major public health concern, quick for decreased chest movements, 85 and 57% for forced
and inexpensive methods to detect it could lead to ear- expiratory time, and 87 and 71% for displacement of car-
lier actions of secondary prevention. Therefore, ques- diac impulse. This study is also the only one in which
tioning the efficacy of clinical examination with respect multivariate analysis was performed. Its results indicate
to the diagnosis of COPD is highly relevant. As will that a history of smoking and reduced breath sounds were
be seen, correlations between clinical examination and the only parameters significantly associated with COPD.
functional data are scarce and seem weak. Nevertheless, This combination had a sensitivity of 67%, specificity
clinicians used to dealing with COPD patients share the of 98%, and an area under the receiver operating curve
experience that physical examination, and principally of 0.88. Interestingly, in this study, peak expiratory flow
inspection, is a powerful first line tool. rate did not improve diagnostic accuracy, but it appeared
To be useful, a given sign must first be recognizable in a subsequent model used by the same group [56].
by different observers. As mentioned throughout the HOLLEMAN et al. [55] found similar results, reporting that
corresponding sections of the present paper, several stud- the number of years the patient had smoked cigarettes
ies have assessed interobserver reliability of respiratory and auscultated wheezing were the only independent
physical signs [5, 7, 10, 14, 53, 54]. predictors of airflow obstruction. It should be noted that
Another approach to the evaluation of clinical signs is signs from inspection and palpation were almost ignor-
to relate their presence to functional parameters. In this ed in this study, the only one listed being decreased
respect, COPD is a particularly interesting model because breath sounds.
clinicians have objective and reproducible means not In addition to these four papers, it should be noted that
only to ascertain the diagnosis but also to appreciate the DELGADO et al. [16] have shown that occurrence of abdom-
severity of the disease (e.g. pulmonary function tests or inal paradox during exercise depends on the severity of
computed tomodensitometry of the lungs). After an early airflow obstruction.
work by SCHNEIDER and ANDERSON [12], four main stud- It appears that we still lack a vast comparison of the
ies are available in which the presence of one of the many signs and symptoms elicited by inspection and pal-
aforementioned physical signs has been related to the pation in COPD with functional data. Such work would
results of pulmonary function tests. In the first, GODFREY improve our knowledge of the operative value of clini-
et al. [11] found significant correlation between FEV1 cal examination in the diagnosis of COPD and assess-
and tracheal descent on inspiration, scalene and sterno- ment of its severity, and lead to a better teaching of
mastoid muscle activities, and recession of supraclavi- symptomatology.
cular fossae on inspiration. As in the initial description
by LAL et al. [49], FEV1 correlated with expiratory time.
That, in this study, external jugular filling was less close- Asthma
ly associated to FEV1 than to specific airways conduc-
tance suggests a relationship with hyperinflation. It is, The diagnosis of acute asthma is generally not a prob-
therefore, possible to hypothesize that this sign could lem. Evaluation of the severity of a given attack and of
reflect the presence of intrinsic positive expiratory pres- the risk for relapse can be more difficult.
sure, but it could also be due to contraction of expira- As stated previously, BEAU and MAISSIAT [23] were
tory muscles. early in describing the importance of sternomastoid
In the second study, by STUBBING et al. [15], the phys- muscle contraction in asthma, rather than that of the sca-
ical signs assessed were first agreed upon by two trained lene muscles. More than a century later, MCFADDEN et
respiratory physicians contributing to the work (kappa al. [26] supported this observation when they establish-
values 0.50–0.62), and then correlated to age, FEV1 and ed correlations between clinical findings and the de-
functional residual capacity (FRC). There was a signifi- gree of airways obstruction in acute severe asthma. They
cant correlation between FEV1 and tracheal descent dur- found that only sternomastoid muscle retraction (con-
ing inspiration, scalene (but not sternomastoid) contraction, traction of the muscle associated with elevation of the
costal margin movement, and what was called "cardiac clavicle, see above) consistently identified patients with
 I N S P E C T I O N A N D PA L PAT I O N O F T H E R E S P I R ATO RY S Y S T E M 1591

severe obstruction. Increases of the respiratory rate Acute inspiratory muscle fatigue
above 30 breaths·min-1 and of cardiac frequency above
120 beats·min-1 also seem reliable indicators of acute Inspiratory muscle fatigue has been proposed as a
asthma severity. The amplitude of the decrease in mechanism leading to respiratory failure in various
systolic arterial pressure during inspiration is com- clinical situations. However, we lack studies attemp-
monly used in clinical practice as an indicator of sever- ting to draw parallels between clinical features and
ity of acute asthma. More than 10 mmHg of paradox mechanical or electrophysiological indices of muscular
in this context seems indicative of reduction in FEV1 dysfunction. To our knowledge, only COHEN et al. [20]
below 1.25 L [57], and correlates with the presence of collected such data. In 12 patients difficult to wean from
hypercapnia [58]. The predictive value of pulsus para- a mechanical ventilator, these authors recorded dia-
doxus alone in assessing acute severe asthma has, phragmatic and intercostal electromyographic (EMG)
however, been criticized, in particular with reference to tracings. They defined "fatigue" as a fall in the high-to-
the age of the patients [59]. FISCHL et al. [60] constructed low frequency ratio of EMG power spectrum, and asses-
a clinical index taking respiratory rate, cardiac frequ- sed respiratory rate and thoracoabdominal motion after
ency, retraction of the sternomastoid muscle, intensity disconnection from the ventilator. Six patients showed
of dyspnoea, intensity of wheezing, and peak expirato- EMG signs of inspiratory muscle fatigue. Only in this
ry flow rate. In 205 consecutive patients presenting to subset of patients was an increase in breathing frequen-
an emergency room with acute asthma, the index score cy observed, followed by respiratory alternans, and ab-
correlated with the severity of obstruction and allowed dominal paradox. The onset of the abdominal paradox
accurate prediction both of the risk of relapse (relapse generally corresponded with a Pa,CO2 associated with aci-
occurred in 40 patients and had been predicted in 95% dosis. Asynchronous thoracoabdominal motion had pre-
of them) and the need for hospitalization (needed in 45 viously been noted in patients with acute respiratory
patients and predicted in 96% of the cases). The per- failure [2, 13, 64], and associated with a poorer prog-
formance of this index has been challenged by a subse- nosis. The study by COHEN et al. [20] further suggest-
quent prospective study [61]. However, physical signs ed that respiratory alternans and abdominal paradox are
appear to provide a good initial estimate of the severi- valid indicators of respiratory muscle fatigue, and are
ty of asthma, and therefore adequate therapeutic guid- more specific than tachypnoea and hypercapnia.
ance.
Conclusions
Pulmonary Embolism
In conclusion, throughout this review it has been men-
Dyspnoea and polypnoea, together with tachycardia, tioned many times that physical signs elicited by inspec-
are usually considered the most sensitive signs of pul- tion and palpation of the thorax or other organs relevant
monary embolism. However, they lack specificity, and to the assessment of respiratory status are extremely vari-
there are very few well-designed studies allowing firm able from one observer to another. In no case does this
conclusions to be drawn mean that physical signs do not allow one to make ade-
From the cohort of patients participating in the Prospec- quate diagnosis, and interobserver variability does not
tive Investigation of Pulmonary Embolism Diagnosis preclude a test's utility. In the study by BADGETT et al.
(PIOPED) study [62], STEIN et al. [63] have selected 365 [14], diminished breath sounds among a set of nine clini-
patients without pre-existing cardiac or pulmonary dis- cal signs had the best operative values (sensitivity 65%,
ease, 117 of which had pulmonary embolism (PE) as specificity 96%, positive predictive value 77%, negative
established by pulmonary angiography, the remaining predictive value 93%; this with a 16% prevalence of
248 being considered unaffected by PE on the basis of COPD) in spite of low kappa values.
negative pulmonary angiography or ventilation-perfusion There is also a marked discrepancy between the fact
scans. They have studied the frequency of a series of that physical diagnosis of COPD is generally reported as
clinical signs and laboratory findings in the two groups. easy when typical signs are present and the clinician is
If we only consider inspection and palpation, interesting aware of them on the one hand, and poor clinical-func-
features of this study are as follows: tachypnoea was pre- tional relationships on the other. It is important to note
sent in 70% of patients with PE, but had no specificity; that the efficacy of clinical examination can be unrivalled
cyanosis was extremely rare in PE; leg swelling and in making a diagnosis, even if its ability to quantify the
Homan's sign were found in only 32% of PE patients, underlying abnormalities is small. There is, therefore, a
and 24% of non-PE patients. Considering other clinical need for repeated large scale studies assessing the sen-
signs, results of the electrocardiogram, blood gases, and sitivity and specificity of respiratory physical signs and
chest radiography, the authors of this study suggested groups of signs, together with the effects of the training
that clinical assessment was unable to allow clinicians of observers.
to safely diagnose or exclude PE, but that it was useful Indeed, intuition suggests that the importance of train-
to decide further investigations. As for other types of ing is major. It is conceivable that having learned to
data, there does not seem to be any correlation between recognize a sign and to relate it to a disease can increase
physical signs and the presence or absence of an embo- the usefulness of this very sign for a given individual.
lus in the pulmonary circulation. This is supported by the differences in kappa values
1592 B . M A I T R E , T. S I M I L O W S K I , J - P. D E R E N N E

reported for diminished breath sounds as a sign of emphy- 16. Delgado HR, Braun SR, Skatrud JB, Reddan WG, Pegelow
sema in untrained physicians (0.16) [7] versus trained DF. Chest wall and abdominal motion during exercise
physicians (up to 0.43) [53]. However, in a limited set in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
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17. Fraser RG, Pare JAP, Pare PD, Fraser RS, Genereux GP.
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