Conduct disorder

Novini vo pedijatrijata / Godi[na revija 2009
WILL STETHOSCOPE SURVIVE ?
Roncevic Zeljko, M.D.,M.Sc.
Clinical Hospital Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Abstract
René Théophile Hyacinthe Laennec (1781-1826) invented the stethoscope in 1816.
After a century of fame, when stethoscope was very important diagnostic tool, technology
revolution with introduction of phonocardiography, ECG, computed tomography,
magnetic imaging and ultrasound caused that many doctors started to
think that stethoscope slowly but surely becomes obsolete.
Many articles in scientific journals around the world showed that cardiac
auscultation skills among medical students and doctors are of poor quality and it
seems that auscultatory skills are declining these days.
Electronic stethoscopes have improved the value of auscultation with their remarkable
abilities to enhance heart sounds. It is possible to amplify cardiac sounds and
murmurs with many other options such as the wireless transfer of what is hard to a
personal computer. Sound processing of heart sounds and murmurs with spectral
analysis are very promising. Now we have various ways to use spectral analysis in
computerized automatic recognition of heart sounds and murmurs in children and
adults. In the future computerized cardiac auscultatory diagnosis will be almost
perfect. After finger-print, iris, face and voice, spectral analysis of heart beats will
allow recognition of an individual. Electronic stethoscopes are very promising but
classic acoustic stethoscope will not die soon. An acoustic stethoscope has a more
natural sound compared to the electronic one. It is a cheap but nevertheless very
good instrument. With a stethoscope you can correctly diagnose many heart
disorders. And the stethoscope is a good screening tool.
Key words: auscultation, electronic stethoscope, spectral analysis, stethoscope.
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