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The Hand‐Carried Echocardiographic Device as an Aid to the Physical Examination
Author(s) -
DeCara Jeanne M.,
Lang Roberto M.,
Spencer Kirk T.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
echocardiography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.404
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1540-8175
pISSN - 0742-2822
DOI - 10.1046/j.1540-8175.2003.03071.x
Subject(s) - physical examination , medicine , intensive care medicine , certification , triage , point of care testing , medical physics , medical emergency , physical exam , diagnostic test , physical therapy , emergency medicine , surgery , pathology , political science , law
Physical examination skills have been declining over the past several decades while technology has made diagnostic testing increasingly sophisticated. For patients with cardiovascular disease, the best approach to bedside diagnosis would be one that combines both physical examination and ready access to technology at the time of the patient encounter. Most cardiac testing is not performed at the bedside due to equipment size and time limitations for these tests. Small hand‐carried echocardiographic devices are now available for rapid bedside examination. These devices compare well to full‐featured systems when used in cardiology outpatient settings and in hospitalized patients who are not critically ill. Compared with physical examination by board certified cardiologists, these devices decrease diagnostic error. Early use of hand‐carried echocardiographic devices after physical examination has been demonstrated to impact patient triage and treatment as well as uncover otherwise undetected cardiac disease. The degree of training required for responsible use of these devices is as yet unclear. However, organized training sessions have resulted in modest agreement with standard echocardiography and point‐of‐care echocardiography performed by expert echocardiographers. It is conceivable that the hand‐carried echocardiographic devices will be used in medical school curriculum to enhance medical student education in the future. (ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY, Volume 20, July 2003)

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