3120 Ch 9 General Survey and Measurements

General survey

Study of whole person

4 areas of objective data

Physical appearance, body structure, mobility, behavior

Physical appearance

Age, sex, consciousness, skin color, facial features, weight, overall appearance

Body structure

Stature, nutrition, symmetry, posture, position, build, contour, deformities (aging kyphosis, toddler lordosis)

Mobility

ROM, gait

Behavior

Facial expressions, mood, affect, speech, dress, hygiene

Weight

Evaluates nutritional status, fluid gain/loss, used to calculate medication doses

BMI

Practical marker of healthy weight for height, indicator for obesity or malnutrition, can identify risk for cardiovascular disease, used w waist circumference to determine risk (measured at iliac crest)

Infant head circumference

Measure around eyebrows and occipital bone, every visit up to 2 years old, yearly until 6 years old

Measure chest circumference at nipple line, chest grows faster than head 6mo-6yr

Chest>head after 2 years

Changes in aging adult

Flexion in posture, wider gait for balance, body soft and less rounded, sharper facial features, fat and muscle distributed differently, sharper contour and prominent bony landmarks

Lose weight 80-90y/o, distribution of fat changes- less on face/arms/hands/legs/feet, more on abdomen

Height decrease due to thinning of vertebral discs, shortening of individual vertebrae, kyphosis, flexion in knees and hips