Lung-Sound Terminology Used by Respiratory Care Practitioners

Abstract

The use of a standard nomenclature to report the results of chest auscultation may increase the value of the procedure. We report the terms used by 156 respiratory care practitioners (RCP) to describe five examples of adventitious lung sounds. Method and Materials: The study participants, 156 RCP attending a national meeting, provided demographic data and described five recorded examples of actual adventitious lung sounds (ALS) heard through stethophones. Results: The terms rales and crackles are used interchangeably and almost exclusively to describe discontinuous ALS. The continuous ALS typical of asthma (polyphonic wheezes) is generally described by the term wheeze, but examples of continuous ALS typical of partial upper airway obstruction or partial large bronchus obstruction (monophonic wheezes) are described by a variety of terms including wheeze, rhonchi, and stridor. The term rhonchi is frequently used for both continuous and discontinuous ALS suggesting that its clinical application is imprecise. Factors such as region of practice, educational level, and time since the completion of training are significantly associated with the terms chosen by RCP. Qualifying adjectives are used infrequently and imprecisely by RCP. Conclusion: We conclude that lung-sound terminology is not well standardized among RCP.