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Page 1 of 14 Auscultation is the most important and effective clinical technique for evaluating a patient’s respiratory pathology. This article gives details of different findings with audio examples.
Requirements for efficient auscultation:
a) A quiet environment is desirable as it makes it easier to listen to respiratory sounds.
b) The patient should be in the proper position.
Preferably in a sitting position, so that all the areas of chest are
accessible for examination. However, the anterior areas can be examined
even when the patient is lying down.
c)  Stethoscope should be touching the patient’s bare skin.
Auscultation through clothes should be avoided as far as possible. This
is to avoid friction sounds that may cause confusion. If the patient's
chest is hairy, then moistening that chest with warm water might be
helpful. 
Stethoscope should be touching the patient’s bare skin.
Auscultation through clothes should be avoided as far as possible. This
is to avoid friction sounds that may cause confusion. If the patient's
chest is hairy, then moistening that chest with warm water might be
helpful.
d) Always ensure patient comfort. Auscultation can easily be carried out while the patient is breathing normally. Requests for deep breathing should be as infrequent as possible, as they can tire the patient. Remember that we tend to examine the respiratory system of a patient in a great detail only when we suspect that he has a respiratory disease. It will be a paradox if we expect that patient to breathe harder for a long time!
While auscultating, THREE simple questions require to be answered:
- Is the intensity of breath sounds increased, normal, or decreased?
- Is the character of breath sounds normal or abnormal?
- Are there any abnormal or adventitious sounds?
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Software Requirement
There are many audio examples of breath sounds in the following pages. These sounds require Windows Media Player or Apple Quicktime for playing. Please make sure that you have either of them.
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