During the primary assessment, how should you best determine the adequacy of a patient's breathing?

In assessing the adequacy of the patient's breathing. The healthcare practitioner should observe the rise and fall of the chest. In this inspection, the healthcare practitioner can assess two things: (1) patency of the airway and (2) the adequacy of breathing. A decrease or asymmetry in chest expansion may point out to pathologies such as pleural effusion or pneumothorax.