Kelmenson Daniel A, Heath Janae K, Ball Stephanie A, Kaafarani Haytham M A, Baker Elisabeth M, Yeh Daniel D, Bittner Edward A, Eikermann Matthias, Lee Jarone
Department of Medicine .
J Med Eng Technol. 2014 Aug;38(6):307-10. doi: 10.3109/03091902.2014.921253. Epub 2014 Jun 18.
In an effort to decrease the spread of hospital-acquired infections, many hospitals currently use disposable plastic stethoscopes in patient rooms. As an alternative, this study examines a prototype electronic stethoscope that does not break the isolation barrier between clinician and patient and may also improve the diagnostic accuracy of the stethoscope exam. This study aimed to investigate whether the new prototype electronic stethoscope improved auscultation of heart sounds compared to the standard conventional isolation stethoscope. In a controlled, non-blinded, cross-over study, clinicians were randomized to identify heart sounds with both the prototype electronic stethoscope and a conventional stethoscope. The primary outcome was the score on a 10-question heart sound identification test. In total, 41 clinicians completed the study. Subjects performed significantly better in the identification of heart sounds when using the prototype electronic stethoscope (median = 9 [7-10] vs. 8 [6-9] points, p value <0.0001). Subjects also significantly preferred the prototype electronic stethoscope. Clinicians using a new prototype electronic stethoscope achieved greater accuracy in identification of heart sounds and also universally favoured the new device, compared to the conventional stethoscope.
为了减少医院获得性感染的传播，目前许多医院在病房中使用一次性塑料听诊器。作为一种替代方案，本研究考察了一种原型电子听诊器，它不会打破临床医生与患者之间的隔离屏障，还可能提高听诊检查的诊断准确性。本研究旨在调查与标准传统隔离听诊器相比，新型原型电子听诊器是否能改善心音听诊效果。在一项对照、非盲、交叉研究中，临床医生被随机安排使用原型电子听诊器和传统听诊器来识别心音。主要结局是一项10道题的心音识别测试的得分。共有41名临床医生完成了该研究。使用原型电子听诊器时，受试者在心音识别方面表现明显更好（中位数分别为9分[7 - 10分]和8分[6 - 9分]，p值<0.0001）。受试者也明显更喜欢原型电子听诊器。与传统听诊器相比，使用新型原型电子听诊器的临床医生在心音识别上具有更高的准确性，并且普遍青睐这种新设备。
