Test: Abdominal Auscultation

Video Link

Background/Purpose

Procedure

Auscultate over at least two positions on the abdomen to assess bowel sounds:
Normal bowel sounds: typically described as gurgling (listen to an example in our video demonstration)
Tinkling bowel sounds: typically associated with bowel obstruction.
Absent bowel sounds: suggests ileus which is a disruption of the normal propulsive ability of the intestine due to a malfunction of peristalsis. Causes of ileus include electrolyte abnormalities and recent abdominal surgery. To be able to confidently state that a patient has ‘absent bowel sounds’ you need to auscultate for at least 3 minutes.
Performed: Bilaterally

Dialog

Stethoscope evaluation for bowel sounds.

Criteria

• Normal sounds present

Measurement

LOINC Code

Scale/Grading

selection range; grade - LOINC ID
Option - Value option selection range; grade - LOINC IDPass ; Pass - Fail ; Fail -