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Lung sound nomenclature survey
R L Wilkins1, J R Dexter, R L Murphy
1Department of Respiratory Therapy, School of Allied Health Professions, Loma Linda University, CA 92350.
Chest
|October 1, 1990
Summary
Physician terminology for lung sounds is inconsistent, with no clear consensus on terms like "rales" or "crackles." This lack of standardization hinders effective communication in pulmonary medicine.
Area of Science:
- Pulmonology
- Medical Acoustics
- Clinical Terminology
Background:
- Accurate lung sound description is crucial for diagnosis.
- Existing nomenclature for adventitious lung sounds (ALS) lacks universal adoption.
- Physician understanding and usage of lung sound terms require investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the terminology used by physicians to describe lung sounds.
- To assess the consistency and standardization of lung sound descriptors among different specialties.
- To evaluate physician recognition of specific lung sound types.
Main Methods:
- Survey of 223 pulmonary physicians and 54 other physicians at a medical convention.
- Participants described eight recorded lung sound examples using free-form answers.
- Analysis of term frequency and agreement for continuous and discontinuous adventitious lung sounds.
Main Results:
- Pulmonary physicians used "crackles" and "rales" equally for discontinuous ALS; other physicians preferred "rales."
- "Wheeze" and "stridor" were exclusively for continuous ALS, while "rhonchi" was used for both.
- Most physicians identified normal breath sounds but not pleural friction rub; adjective use and agreement were low.
Conclusions:
- Physician terminology for lung sounds is not standardized.
- Current lung sound nomenclature recommendations are not widely accepted.
- Improved standardization efforts are needed for clear clinical communication.