Periodic health examination

: A literature search has been made on the examinations to be performed during the "periodic health exam" on the healthy adult. These examinations shall be performed bearing in mind the prevalence and morbility data of the specific diseases, individual risk factors and the quality (sensibility and specificity) of the diagnostic procedure. The value of regular blood pressure determination, breast exam and cervical cytology with Papanicolaou stain, is well established. However, there is no consensus regarding other determinations, due to the fact that different authors use different approaches. The skin, mouth and thyroid examination for cancer screening is limited only to individuals having risk factors. Heart auscultation for the diagnosis of valvulopathies that could required antibiotic prophylaxis for bacterial endocarditis is important. In individuals over sixty years old, vision acuity and hearing capabilities should be explored, also abdomen should be explored to detect aortic aneurysms. Hypercholesterolemia should be determined in individuals over 20 years old, and PPD should be performed before 35 years old. Concerning the rest of explorations (rectal taction, testicular exploration, etc.) its efficacy has not been clearly established in the screening.