Traditional fracture testing in the field of athletic training relies heavily on subjective responses of the athlete. Percussion and compression type tests rely on the athlete stating an increase in pain which represents a positive symptom of a possible fracture. The tuning fork and stethoscope method relied purely on a subjective assessment from the examiner. The purpose of the study was to de...

Cardiac auscultation, long considered the centerpiece of the cardiac clinical examination, is rapidly becoming a lost art. Inadequate emphasis on the essentials of cardiac auscultation has resulted from the widespread availability of more elaborate and expensive "high-tech" diagnostic and therapeutic methods, particularly Doppler echocardiography. However, sophisticated high technology is not a...

In modem pediatric anesthesiology continuous monitoring of the patient is essential for the safe conduct of the anesthesia. Artificial metering of oxygen, the host of new anesthetic agents and techniques, and assisted or controlled respiration can cause sudden critical changes in the status of the patient. The newer halogenated agents may cause abrupt -cardiac incompetence either through direct...

BACKGROUND Stethoscopes are contaminated with bacteria, but predictors of stethoscope disinfection frequency are unknown. We sought to describe health care provider stethoscope disinfection attitudes and practices and determine predictors of frequent disinfection. METHODS We used an anonymous online survey of nurses, nurse practitioners, and physicians at a pediatric hospital. We assessed fre...

OBJECTIVE The use of an esophageal stethoscope is a basic heart sounds monitoring procedure performed in patients under general anesthesia. As the size of the first heart sound can express the left ventricle function, its correlation with cardiac output should be investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of cardiac output (CO) on the first heart sound (S1) amplitude. Me...

Today it is well demonstrated that stethoscopes can be as contaminated as hands, which are a recognized source of Health-Care Associated Infections (HCAIs). Ultraviolet C (UVC) light has proven disinfection capacity and the innovative UVC technology of Light Emitting Diode (LED) shows several potential benefits. To verify whether the use of UVC LEDs is effective and reliable in stethoscope memb...

• Vol 8 • May 2006 Musical Murmur Cardiac murmur is defined as an audit tory vibration that is more prolonged than heart sounds and is characterized by int tensity (loudness), frequency (pitch), cont figuration (shape), as well as the quality, duration and direction of radiation, and timing related to the cardiac cycle [1]. In daily practice these auscultatory findings can be detected either by...

Three children are described in whom an unusual heart murmur was intermittently audible in the same room without a stethoscope. Subsequent investigations disclosed mitral valve prolapse in all three patients.