General Survey Assessment in Patient Care

Study Notes

General Survey Assessment

A general survey assessment is a component of a patient assessment that observes the entire patient as a whole.
It begins with the initial patient contact and continues throughout the helping relationship.
Observation includes using all five senses to gather cues.

Physical Appearance

Skin Color:
- Normal: Even color tone, skin is intact with no obvious lesions.
- Deviation from normal: Pallor, cyanosis, jaundice, erythma, or lesions.
Facial Features:
- Normal: Symmetric with movement.
- Deviation from normal: Immobile, masklike, asymmetric, or drooping.
Overall:
- Normal: No signs of acute distress present.
- Deviation from normal: Respiratory signs, shortness of breath, wheezing, pain, facial grimace, holding/guarding body part.

Body Structure

Stature:
- Normal: Height appears within normal range for age, genetic, and heritage.
- Deviation from normal: Excessively short or tall.
Nutrition:
- Normal: Weight appears within normal range for height and body build; body fat distribution is even.
- Deviation from normal: Emaciated, cachectic, obviously obese with even fat distribution, or fat concentrated in face, neck, trunk, with thin arms and legs.
Symmetry:
- Normal: Body parts look equal bilaterally and are in relative proportion to each other.
- Deviation from normal: Unilateral atrophy or hypertrophy, asymmetric appearance/location of body parts.

Body Types

Ectomorph: Long and lean, little body fat or muscle, referred to as thin individuals.
Mesomorph: Well-defined muscles, more muscle than body fat, referred to as muscular.
Endomorph: Large, round bodies, curvy, greater body fat than muscle.

Posture and Position

Posture:
- Normal: Patient stands comfortably erect.
- Deviation from normal: Stiff and tense, fidgety movements, shoulders slumped, looks depressed.
Position:
- Normal: Patient sits comfortably in a chair or bed, arms relaxed at the sides, head turned to the examiner.
- Deviation from normal: Curled up in the fetal position, leaning forward with arms braced on chair arms or over the thighs, sitting up and desists lying down.

Body, Build, Contour

Normal: Arm span equals height.
Deviation from normal: Elongated arms greater than height, missing extremities or digits, extra digits, webbed digits, shortened limb.

Genetic Conditions

Marfan Syndrome: A genetic condition affecting connective tissue, damaging blood vessels, heart, eyes, skin, lungs, and bones of the hips, spine, feet, and rib cage.
Polydactyly: A condition where a baby is born with one or more extra fingers, often runs in families, extra fingers are usually small and abnormally developed.
Types of Polydactyly: Preaxial (Radial), Central, Post Axial.
Syndactyly: A condition where fingers or toes are webbed or conjoined, the most common malformation of the limbs.

Description

Learn about the importance and components of a general survey assessment in patient care, including physical appearance, age assessment, and normal findings. Understand how observations using the five senses can provide valuable cues for further assessment.