HEENT examination
{{Short description|Portion of a physical examination}}
A HEENT examination is a portion of a physical examination{{cite book|author1=Swaminatha V. Mahadevan|author2=Gus. M. Garmel|title=An introduction to clinical emergency medicine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PL9OKbfcHasC&pg=PA267|access-date=6 March 2011|date=5 July 2005|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-54259-3|pages=267–}} that principally concerns the head, eyes, ears, nose, and throat.{{cite book|last1=Deutsch|first1=Laurence M.|title=Medical Records for Attorneys|date=2001|publisher=ALI-ABA|isbn=9780831808174|page=57|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8QqrCPzDnxAC&q=HEENT+examination|access-date=18 January 2018|language=en}}
Steps
- IPPA
- Inspection of scars or skin changes
- Palpation of temporomandibular joint, thyroid, and lymph nodes
- Percussion may involve the skin above the frontal sinuses and paranasal sinuses to detect any signs of pain
- Auscultation for carotid bruits
- Tests specific to HEENT examination
- Eyes: eye examination and acuity (including ophthalmoscope)
- Ears: hearing examination and evaluation of tympanic membrane (TM) (otoscope used in evaluation of ears, nose, and mouth)
A neurological examination is usually considered separate from the HEENT evaluation, although there can be some overlap in some cases.
Sample write-up
| class="wikitable" |
| Category
! Item ! Sample text |
|---|
| Head
| | "NC/AT" or "Normocephalic, atraumatic" |
| Eyes
| "EOM intact, PERRLA, anicteric, no injection, fundus WNL (within normal limits), no papilledema" |
| Ears
| "TM intact, noninflamed" |
| Nose
| otoscope | "No congestion" |
| Throat
| otoscope | "Oropharynx WNL" or "no erythema or exudate" |
| Mouth
| otoscope | "Moist mucous membranes, no thrush, no vesicles, no lesions, good dentition" |
| Neck
| | "No LAD, thyroid WNL, neck supple" (JVD and bruit may be reported here or in CV) |