LUNG SOUND TERMINOLOGY IN CASE-REPORTS

Terms used to describe lung sounds in published case reports were tabulated, including qualifying adjectives. Seven journals were reviewed, and a total of 663 case reports were included. From the frequency of usage and similarity of qualifying adjectives it appears that 'rales' and 'crepitations' are equivalent terms. Many authors feel the need to qualify 'rales': 16 descriptive adjectives were encountered. Some authors distinguish between 'rhonchus' and wheeze', but the terms, for most, appear to mean the same thing. It is evident that current usage varies widely, even in the terminology of the basic categories of sound.