Tb patient on auscultation breath sounds and added sounds

Reading File

Finding Sources

Reading File

Finding Sources

Reading File

The truncation at line 3141 cut the physical examination section. Let me retrieve the rest:

Reading File

I now have the key textbook content. Here is a comprehensive answer:

Auscultatory Findings in Pulmonary TB

Finding	Location/Context
Bronchial (tubular) breath sounds	Over areas of lung consolidation — where alveoli are filled with caseous/exudative material, sound is transmitted more directly from large airways
Amphoric (hollow/cavernous) breath sounds	Over cavities — a distant, hollow, echoing quality resembling blowing over a bottle neck; characteristic of large TB cavities
Diminished/absent breath sounds	Over areas of extensive consolidation, collapse, or pleural effusion

Sound	Mechanism	When Heard
Post-tussive rales (crackles)	The most classic TB sign — fine to medium crackles heard over infiltrated areas after a short cough; the cough clears secretions momentarily, then rales reappear	Over apical/posterior segments (upper lobes and apical lower lobe — sites of reactivation TB)
Fine crackles (rales)	Opening of collapsed small airways in consolidated/fibrosed regions	Areas of active infiltration
Coarse crackles	Secretions in larger airways	Cavitating or endobronchial disease
Pleural friction rub	Pleurisy from parenchymal inflammation adjacent to pleural surface	Localized; accompanies pleuritic chest pain
Wheeze (rare)	Endobronchial TB causing partial obstruction, or tracheobronchial TB	More common in children with large hilar lymph nodes compressing bronchi

General findings are often unremarkable, especially in early or primary TB — physical examination underestimates the extent of disease.
Post-tussive rales at the lung apex (asking the patient to cough and then immediately auscultating) is the most clinically specific maneuver for pulmonary TB.
Amphoric breathing signals cavity formation — advanced/reactivation TB.
Bronchial breathing without cavity indicates consolidation from caseous pneumonia.
In HIV-coinfected patients and children, chest signs may be entirely absent despite significant radiological disease.

Summary mnemonic — "BAPRC":

— Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice, Physical Examination section (TB chapter)

Any added sound

Based on the textbook content already retrieved, here is a focused breakdown of all added (adventitious) sounds in pulmonary TB:

Most characteristic auscultatory finding in pulmonary TB
Fine crackles heard immediately after a short cough
Mechanism: consolidated/infiltrated alveoli collapse during quiet breathing; a cough momentarily reopens them, producing crackles on the very next breath
Heard over apices (upper lobes — site of reactivation TB)

Type	Location	Cause
Fine crackles	Apical zones	Alveolar infiltration, fibrosis
Medium/coarse crackles	Any infiltrated area	Secretions in medium airways, cavitation

Endobronchial TB: granulomatous tissue partially obstructs a bronchus → localized monophonic wheeze
Children: enlarged hilar lymph nodes compress bronchi → wheeze or stridor
Can mimic asthma in some presentations

Examination is often normal, especially in early/primary TB — radiology far outperforms clinical signs
Post-tussive rales at the lung apex is the hallmark bedside test — ask the patient to cough, then immediately auscultate
Absence of added sounds does not rule out TB
In HIV-positive patients and elderly, chest signs may be completely absent

— Rosen's Emergency Medicine, TB Physical Examination section

This is a shared conversation. Sign in to Orris to start your own chat.