Objective: Although crackles are frequently heard on auscultation of the chest of patients with common cardiopulmonary disorders, the mechanism of production of these sounds is inadequately understood. The goal of this research was to gain insights into the mechanism of crackle generation by systematic examination of the relationship between inspiratory and expiratory crackle characteristics.
Methods: Patients with a significant number of both inspiratory and expiratory crackles were examined using a multichannel lung sound analyzer.