What's the best stethoscope?

TheOneTwo · Feb 24, 2006

I was wondering what you guys think the best stethscope is. I spent the last 4 years in medical school with a relatively old/crappy Littman.

From my understanding Littmans are good but by no means the best (just the widest range and the best marketing). the diaphragms are a bit loose on them, and if i bought one i'd go for the master cardio but it lacks a bell which is of more importance to me.

i THINK the drg's harvey and philips sprague are better from what i've heard from others. does anybody have opinions on these?

other thing is, do you think electronic stethoscopes are good/worth it? i've seen some faculty and students use them. people say that they're effective at reducing ambient noise. and those ones that can record sounds probably make nice teaching tools but cost a LOT more.

anybody have any ideas about this?

deleted87716 · Feb 24, 2006

This seems to come up here a lot.

Have you read this thread and this thread? Lots of good info in those.

The best ones, as far as I'm concerned, are the Littmann Cardiology II (no longer made...check eBay) and Welch-Allyn Harvey Elite.

As for electronic stethoscopes, I've tried a couple of them, but found them unsatisfactory.

Mumpu · Feb 24, 2006

We got Harvey Deluxes from the alumni association at the start of first year. What a piece of junk, and I've seen nipples bigger than the bell on that thing (here's an image for ya!).

Phillips (or whoever makes them now) Rappaport-Sprague with a Craddock/Pelham bell is the way to go. Surgeons on "Gray's Anatomy" wear Littmans. Dr Cox and Dr House wear R-S's. Who do you want to be?

Electronic stethoscopes are iffy unless you have hearing loss or another real reason to need them ("I don't want to learn physical exam" is not a good one). I don't believe you can reproduce low-frequency sounds in that tiny box and distortion of sounds leads to distortion of the diagnosis.

BlahtoThis · Feb 24, 2006

I agree with regards to the electronic stethoscopes - the only reason I was strongly considering one was for the value of being able to record the heart sounds for teaching purposes but didn't have the experience to compare with "typical" stethoscopes as far as true quality.

Thanks for the advice both of you. I checked out the other links and those came in handy too. I know a lot of people like the Littmans but I honestly don't think they're the best (having compared a cardio III and a master cardio with both a Harvey and a Philips). I think I might go for the Philips in the end.

Gotta love your stethoscope.

deleted87716 · Feb 24, 2006

Mumpu said:
Phillips (or whoever makes them now) Rappaport-Sprague

Nobody makes 'em now. Discontinued. Too bad...nice 'scopes.

Furrball2 · Feb 25, 2006

Any of the > $100 models probably work just fine. I have a Littman Cardiology III. Supposedly the cardiology III and master cardiology have tunable diaphragms negating the need for a bell. I will never take care of kids so I removed the peds diaphragm and turned it into a bell which I think works better. One of the big things that I like about the cardiology III is that it is comfortable in my ears.

Ask to borrow other people's scopes on the floors to try out different models and buy the one you like. FYI, I'm in internal medicine and I prefer the Littman over ther R-S; just personal preference.

snoozz · Feb 25, 2006

this is kinda random, but i am actually looking to sell a new black littman cardiology III, if anyone is interested, send me a private messge.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=262038

What's the best stethoscope?

TheOneTwo

Member

deleted87716

Mumpu

Burninator, MD

BlahtoThis

Member

deleted87716

Furrball2

Stll Faking Sincerity

snoozz

Junior Member

Similar threads