TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Approach to the Patient with Respiratory Symptoms A1 - Grippi, Michael A. A1 - Callen, Jeffrey P. A2 - Grippi, Michael A. A2 - Antin-Ozerkis, Danielle E. A2 - Dela Cruz, Charles S. A2 - Kotloff, Robert M. A2 - Kotton, Camille Nelson A2 - Pack, Allan I. Y1 - 2023 N1 - T2 - Fishman’s Pulmonary Diseases and Disorders, 6e AB - The most common respiratory complaints prompting medical evaluation are shortness of breath and cough. Less frequent are hemoptysis and thoracic pain. As in any medical assessment, a detailed history and thorough physical examination are of paramount importance. Use of plain chest radiography for routine screening, once popular in the hope of uncovering silent disease amenable to therapy, is not routinely employed, as it has not been proven to decrease mortality or to be cost-effective. Chest radiography is now usually reserved for patients who have clinical manifestations of thoracic disease; serial chest radiographs often provide invaluable clues regarding the underlying problem. More sophisticated imaging techniques, including computed tomography (CT),1,2 along with tests of lung function, help complete the clinical picture. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/03/28 UR - accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1194948098 ER -