Do higher cost stethoscopes really make auscultating easier?

[MacGyver]

Whats the difference between a $50 steth vs a $180 littman cardiology 3 vs a $450 electronic scope?

Do the more expensive scopes really help you hear things easier? Or is it just marketing BS?

How many of you have used scopes that vary a lot in price?

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[Law2Doc]

Whats the difference between a $50 steth vs a $180 littman cardiology 3 vs a $450 electronic scope?

Do the more expensive scopes really help you hear things easier? Or is it just marketing BS?

How many of you have used scopes that vary a lot in price?

Hardly anyone uses the electronic scopes. They are probably better, but not exactly making a dent in the industry. In the right hands a $15 steth is probably adequate. You will perhaps use these disposable ones in the rooms with patients who have antibiotic resistant bacteria, and probably won't notice a huge difference. But as a med student struggling to hear anything useful, I suspect you are better off with the middle range Littman, Welch Allen etc.

 

[dpmd]

I used a cheapy all through med school and never had a problem hearing what I needed to. I picked up the occasional real murmur as well as a few hallucinated ones, and I never missed a finding that I didn't hear when I checked again (if I didn't hear it with mine, but heard it with a fancy one then I would have been more inclined to drop the money on a brand name one).

I got a Littman for graduation and I think it picks up too much artifact (moving fingers and clothes seem really loud). I guess that means that if you hold perfectly still it should pick up quieter sounds, but unless you are a cardiologist you don't really need that. Maybe the brand name will give you greater confidence in what you are hearing. In that case I guess its up to you if the extra cash is worth the false confidence.

 

[winstonm]

I have a DRG Puretone Cardiology (ebay, baby!) and I like it better than my ex's Cadio II, but it's not much different from the Cardio III. I actually tried Littman's 3000 electronic model at our equipment sale this year. It's surprisingly good, dampening a lot of environmental noise and allowing you to hear low freq. bell sounds even through a sweater. At the end of the day, it won't tell you what you're listening to so what's between your ears is still more important, but it certainly would be helpful in noisy environments. Plus, at $300 (Canadian) it's likely a far better buy for most people than a diagnostic set.

 

[crazy_cavalier]

welch allyn harvey elite. well worth the $115 i put down for it 👍

 

[fatman41]

Don't spend much on the stethoscope. As an M4, my experience has been that you need to know what sounds normal (heart, lungs, abdomen). If it does not sound normal, then order imaging (echo, cxr, axr, ecg etc). We're not in the 1800s where you need to recognize every physical exam trick when doing an exam. However, you do need to know all these tricks b/c they are on STEP I. For example, I know the classic description of every heart murmur there is when phrased in a vignette, otherwise I would not have done well on STEP I. However, when I do an exam on the floors, I listen for 4sec, if it sounds abnormal, I get imaging. This might not be the best way to do it, but it provides the most definite diagnosis and covers you medicolegally. Long story short, get a cheap stethoscope.

 

[deleted29780]

use an average litt... U do not need to pay all that money for a good steth.
and most importantly, u need a well trained ear.

 

[Law2Doc]

If it does not sound normal, then order imaging (echo, cxr, axr, ecg etc). We're not in the 1800s

LOL - you obviously missed all those articles last year in all the major medical publications bemoaning the loss of auscultation skills in the latest generation of doctors, and how they are too quick to order expensive tests for things they could determine/rule out during clinical exam.

 

[stoic]

There is a major difference between a $15 dollar nurse scope and a $100 dollar scope. But there isn't that much difference between a $60 and a $200 dollar scope. You need a decent stethoscope, but you certainly don't need the most expensive model out there. It's true that the most important thing is what's between the ear pieces. You should be able to hear what you need to hear with any decent, moderately priced scope.

Oh, and about the electronic scopes. The only people I really see using them are those with hearing loss. That's a pretty good excuse. For anyone else, you'll probably get made fun of endlessly.

 

[Anka]

I got mine for $20 from a nursing student -- it was probably $80 new. It's served me well thus far, and I can hear all the murmurs and rubs anyone expects a med student to be able to hear. If I was going into cards it might be a problem. As a bonus, the thing is purple and looks ridiculous, so ain't no one gonna steal it. I once left it lying in the ED and it was still there when I noticed it was missing two days later.

Best,
Anka

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

Upon recommendation from a cardiothoracic surgeon, I got a Littman Cardio II. Cost me $65, and to my MSI ears, it works great 🙂

 

[NEATOMD]

From my experience I'd recommend that no matter how much you decide to spend to make sure you have comfortable ear pieces. Case in point: I forgot my stethoscope the other day and borrowed a cheapie that belonged to the clinic....I couldn't stand to wear the thing for more than 15 seconds because the ear pieces were digging into my ears so badly. I could've probably heard fine except I couldn't concentrate over the excruciating pain. -The End

 

[TheMightyAngus]

A couple of faculty from the cardiology department expressed the opinion that the Littman Cardio III amplifies heart sounds too much that it becomes distorted, making it difficult to learn the distinctions. This is my excuse for not hearing $hit, at least.

 

[Law2Doc]

A couple of faculty from the cardiology department expressed the opinion the Littman Cardio III amplifies heart sounds too much that it becomes distorted, making it difficult to learn the distinctions. This is my excuse for not hearing $hit, at least.

That's like the musician who blames his instrument.🙂

 

[8744]

Funny story.

I had a patient with a pseudo-aneurysm in his groin from a PCI and I was listening with my stethoscope for a bruit. As I left his room I heard him comment to his wife that the "Dumb-ass thinks my heart is in my balls."

Now I always explain when I listen somewhere wierd.

KentW, wherever you are, tell me definitively what is the best stethoscope so that I may buy it. (And no, I don't care what anybody else says)

 

[Law2Doc]

Funny story.

I had a patient with a pseudo-aneurysm in his groin from a PCI and I was listening with my stethoscope for a bruit. As I left his room I heard him comment to his wife that the "Dumb-ass thinks my heart is in my balls."

Now I always explain when I listen somewhere wierd.

KentW, wherever you are, tell me definitively what is the best stethoscope so that I may buy it. (And no, I don't care what anybody else says)

Should have just told him you were listening for brain activity.🙂

 

[tiredmom]

While I was nursing - I used a littman lightweight stethescope. Thought I was hearing great - then one of the attendings had me listen again with his Littman cardio - I heard the fine crackles that I couldn't hear with my cheaper one. So, I inherited a cardio when I started med school, I hear alot more now.

 

[Dr. McDreamy]

Whats the difference between a $50 steth vs a $180 littman cardiology 3 vs a $450 electronic scope?

Do the more expensive scopes really help you hear things easier? Or is it just marketing BS?

How many of you have used scopes that vary a lot in price?

buy the cardiology 3. i paid 130 for mine. it's what everyone gets so 1000 flies can't be wrong right?

seriously though, at this age you won't know what you're listening to. don't blow the mony on the electornic kind unless you're deaf or you're going into cardiology. and a $15 stethescope?!! what in the world is that? the kind that comes with your halloween costume?

 

[Law2Doc]

seriously though, at this age you won't know what you're listening to. don't blow the mony on the electornic kind unless you're deaf or you're going into cardiology.

Most of the cardiologists I've met are very old school, and more likely to use an antique than go high tech, so I'm not sure I'd go electronic even if you are going into that field. If you are going deaf then obviously go with whatever works for you.