© 2003 by BMJ Publishing Group & British Cardiac Society
EDITORIAL
The "ultrasonic stethoscope": is it of clinical value?
Cardiology Unit, POI Portuense, Roma, Italy
Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr Alessandro Salustri, Cardiology Unit, POI Portuense, Via dei Buonvisi, 50-00148 Roma, Italy;
salustri@jnet.it
The availability of miniaturised ultrasound instruments, such as the "ultrasonic stethoscope", herald a new era in the detection of important cardiovascular pathology at the point-of-care
Keywords: ultrasonic stethoscope; portable ultrasound
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
During the last centuries, cardiologists were taught to perform physical examination by using their senses; indeed, most clinical diagnoses are still based on auscultation which requires the best skill to recognise abnormal sounds and different types of heart murmurs. However, awareness that abnormal physical findings are not always specific nor always sensitive has led to the development of an armamentarium of diagnostic procedures during the last few decades. In particular, ultrasound imaging allows the cardiac structures to be viewed dynamically, undoubtedly providing a new window on the heart. Currently, echocardiography is the most widely used and cost effective diagnostic imaging tool in cardiology and has largely replaced other imaging modalities in a wide variety of health care environments. Generally, a standard echocardiogram is requested whenever the physical examination is inconclusive or doubtful, or for evaluation of the severity of a known disease.
However, echocardiography is becoming more and more complex
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