I might go as far as saying percussion has almost no role in the practice of medicine in developed nations in the 21st century. Here's why: 1. There is virtually no clinically significant finding that percussion will pick up that wouldn't either be picked up on history or on auscultation.* 2. Anyone with new respiratory symptoms (e.g. dyspnea, hemoptysis) on history, or with an abnormal auscultation should get a chest X-ray. (may not be standard practice in resource-limited areas). 3. There is no pathology that percussion provides additional information to a chest X-ray. 4. Until recently, percussion still had a role in identifying the location of a known effusion at the bedside immediately prior to thoracentesis. But now we use ultrasound for that. (This is obviously not available in all parts of the world.) * The one debatable exception would be picking up hyperresonance in someone with subclinical (i.e. presymptomatic) COPD/emphysema. Although this possible role is suggested by the literature, I'm underwhelmed by its usefulness because the only treatment for subclinical COPD is smoking cessation, which a doctor should be recommending to their patient anyway, irrespective of chest percussion findings.
