Listen to breath sounds - Respiratory Therapy Programs

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Auscultation of breath sounds can provide an incredible amount of useful information to the clinician. Unfortunately, there is a great amount of confusion among even good clinicians as to the naming of these sounds and what these sounds may or may not indicate.

Normal breath sounds

Stridor

Wheezing

Coarse Crackles

Fine Crackles

Vd/Vt
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The Vd/Vt indicates how much of the tidal volume is composed of deadspace. This is important to monitor because increases in deadspace reduce gas exchange and increase the patient’s work of breathing. Vd/Vt = PaCO2-PECO2/PaCO2Peco2 [...]
A-a Gradient
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The A-a gradient compares the pressure of oxygen in the alveoli (PAO2) to the pressure of oxygen in the arteries (PaO2). This pressure difference should range between 5 and 10 mm Hg in a healthy [...]
Respiratory Quotient
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What is the respiratory quotient? The respiratory quotient (RQ) is the ratio of carbon dioxide produced to oxygen consumed. This is based primarily on the patient’s diet. A diet high in lipids has an RQ [...]
PaO2/FiO2 Ratio
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The PaO2/FiO2 ratio, also known as the P/F ratio, is a quick calculation often used to determine the severity of ARDS. The P/F ratio is calculated by dividing the arterial oxygen pressure (PaO2) obtained from [...]
Alveolar air equation
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The alveolar air equation calculates the partial pressure of oxygen within the alveoli (PAO2). The alveolar air equation is also referred to as the alveolar gas equation. PAO2 = [(Patm – Ph2O)fio2] – [PaCO2/0.8] Why [...]