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Journal of Osteopathic Medicine Jun 2023The acquisition of clinical skills is an essential part of the osteopathic medical school curriculum. Preclinical medical students, especially at osteopathic medical...
CONTEXT
The acquisition of clinical skills is an essential part of the osteopathic medical school curriculum. Preclinical medical students, especially at osteopathic medical schools, have limited exposure to abnormal physical examination (PE) findings that are not typically seen in a student's peers or in a standardized patient (SP). The early exposure of first-year medical students (MS1s) to normal and abnormal findings in the simulation settings better equips them to identify abnormalities when they encounter them in a clinical setting.
OBJECTIVES
The aim of this project was to develop and implement the introductory course on learning abnormal PE signs and pathophysiology of abnormal clinical findings to address the educational needs of MS1s.
METHODS
The didactic part of the course consisted of PowerPoint presentations and lecture on the topics related to the simulation. The practical skill session was 60 min, during which time students first practiced PE signs and then were assessed on their ability to accurately identify abnormal PE signs on a high-fidelity (HF) mannequin. Faculty instructors guided students through clinical cases and challenged them with probing questions in clinically relevant content. Before- and after-simulation evaluations were created to assess students' skills and confidence. Student satisfaction levels after the training course were also assessed.
RESULTS
This study demonstrated significant improvements in five PE skills (p<0.0001) after the introductory course of abnormal PE clinical signs. The average score for five clinical skills increased from 63.1 to 88.74% (before to after simulation). The confidence of students in performing clinical skills and their understanding of the pathophysiology of abnormal clinical findings also increased significantly (p<0.0001) after simulation activity and educational instruction. The average confidence score increased from 3.3 to 4.5% (before to after simulation) on a 5-point Likert scale. Survey results demonstrated high satisfaction with the course among learners with mean satisfaction score 4.7 ± 0.4 on 5-point Likert scale. The introductory course was well received by MS1s and they left positive feedback.
CONCLUSIONS
This introductory course offered MS1s with novice PE skills the ability to learn a variety of abnormal PE signs, including heart murmurs and rhythms, lung sounds, measurement of blood pressure (BP), and palpation of the femoral pulse. This course also allowed abnormal PE findings to be taught in a time-efficient and faculty-resource-efficient manner.
Topics: Humans; Curriculum; Learning; Physical Examination; Internship and Residency; Students, Medical
PubMed: 36998103
DOI: 10.1515/jom-2022-0163 -
BMC Cardiovascular Disorders Mar 2023Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) continues to cause suffering and premature deaths in many sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries, where the disease is still endemic. RHD is...
BACKGROUND
Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) continues to cause suffering and premature deaths in many sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries, where the disease is still endemic. RHD is largely preventable and determining its community burden is an important critical step in any RHD prevention program.
METHODS
We conducted a cross-sectional study of 5-16 years old pupils from 11 primary schools participating in an RHD prevention program in 4 districts in Tanzania, between 2018 and 2019. At the school, all children were invited to participate after receiving consent from their parents/guardians. Participating children filled a questionnaire and were auscultated for cardiac murmurs. Echocardiographic screening was done by two experienced cardiologists, using a hand-held machine (V-Scan, GE®). All positive screening tests were stored for further examination by the same two cardiologists to reach to a consensus of definite, borderline or no RHD, using a modified World Heart Federation (WHF) criterion.
RESULTS
Of the 6895 children invited, 4738 (68.7%) were screened and 4436 (64.3%) had complete data. The mean (SD) age was 10.04 (2.43) years, and 2422 (54.6%) were girls. Fifty three (1.2%) children were found to have a murmur. The proportion of children with trace or mild valvular regurgitation, sub-valvular/chordal thickening and valvular thickening/deformity were 8.3%, 1.3%, and 1.0%, respectively. Sub-clinical RHD was found in 95 children (59 definite and 36 borderline), giving a prevalence of 2.1%, [95% CI 1.7% - 2.6%]. Sub-clinical RHD was independently associated with female sex (aOR 1.83, 95% CI 1.18-2.85, p = 0.007), older age groups (aOR 1.73, 95% CI 1.10-2.72, p = 0.018 for age group 11-14 years; and aOR 3.02 95% CI 1.01-9.05, p = 0.048 for age group 15-16 years), as well as presence of a cardiac murmur, aOR 5.63 95% CI 2.31-13.69, p < 0.0001. None of the studied socio- or economic factors was associated with the presence of sub-clinical RHD in this study.
CONCLUSION
The prevalence of sub-clinical RHD among primary school children in Tanzania is 2.1%, similar to previous reports in SSA. Efforts to prevent and control RHD in our communities are highly warranted.
Topics: Humans; Child; Female; Aged; Adolescent; Child, Preschool; Male; Rheumatic Heart Disease; Cross-Sectional Studies; Tanzania; Mass Screening; Echocardiography; Prevalence; Heart Defects, Congenital
PubMed: 36966309
DOI: 10.1186/s12872-023-03186-y -
Biomedical Engineering Online Mar 2023Heart auscultation is an easy and inexpensive tool for early diagnosis of congenital heart defects. In this regard, a simple device which can be used easily by...
BACKGROUND
Heart auscultation is an easy and inexpensive tool for early diagnosis of congenital heart defects. In this regard, a simple device which can be used easily by physicians for heart murmur detection will be very useful. The current study was conducted to evaluate the validity of a Doppler-based device named "Doppler Phonolyser" for the diagnosis of structural heart diseases in pediatric patients. In this cross-sectional study, 1272 patients under 16 years who were referred between April 2021 and February 2022, to a pediatric cardiology clinic in Mofid Children Hospital, Tehran, Iran, were enrolled. All the patients were examined by a single experienced pediatric cardiologist using a conventional stethoscope at the first step and a Doppler Phonolyser device at the second step. Afterward, the patient underwent trans-thoracic echocardiography, and the echocardiogram results were compared with the conventional stethoscope as well as the Doppler Phonolyser findings.
RESULTS
Sensitivity of the Doppler Phonolyser for detecting congenital heart defects was 90.5%. The specificity of the Doppler Phonolyser in detecting heart disease was 68.9% in compared with the specificity of the conventional stethoscope, which was 94.8%. Among the most common congenital heart defects in our study population, the sensitivity of the Doppler Phonolyser was 100% for detection of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF); In contrast, sensitivity of both the conventional stethoscope and the Doppler Phonolyser was relatively low for detecting atrial septal defect.
CONCLUSIONS
Doppler Phonolyser could be useful as a diagnostic tool for the detection of congenital heart defects. The main advantages of the Doppler Phonolyser over the conventional stethoscope are no need for operator experience, the ability to distinguish innocent murmurs from the pathologic ones and no effect of environmental sounds on the performance of the device.
Topics: Humans; Child; Heart Sounds; Cross-Sectional Studies; Sensitivity and Specificity; Iran; Heart Murmurs; Heart Defects, Congenital
PubMed: 36899353
DOI: 10.1186/s12938-023-01084-0 -
Veterinary Research Forum : An... 2022A one and a half years old male French bulldog weighing 9.50 kg was presented with the history of inappetence, lethargy, abdominal distension and exercise intolerance...
A one and a half years old male French bulldog weighing 9.50 kg was presented with the history of inappetence, lethargy, abdominal distension and exercise intolerance since last 2 days. The physical examination was done which revealed normal physiological parameters including temperature, mucus membrane color and capillary refill time except palpable precordial thrills, jugular distension on palpation, tachycardia and systolic murmurs on auscultation. Electrocardiography (ECG) was done which depicted ectopic foci with atrioventricular junctional tachycardia and right ventricular enlargement involving very small inverted P waves, deep S waves in leads I, II, III and augmented vector foot (aVF) and splintered QRS complexes. The dog was undergone chest radiography that revealed right atrial enlargement, increased sternal contact of heart on lateral view and a bulge at 9:00 o'clock to 11:00 o'clock depicted right atrial enlargement on dorso-ventral view. Lastly, echocardiography was done to arrive at a diagnosis confirming the Ebstein's anomaly as a form of tricuspid valve dysplasia including apical displacement of tricuspid valve leaflets, division of right ventricle into atrialized and functional portions, increased displacement index, increased apex-mitral annulus to apex-tricuspid annulus ratio, severe right atrial dilatation and tricuspid regurgitation. The dog was medically treated with diuretics, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and inotropes and the owner was advised to put the dog on low sodium diet for 2 weeks. The dog has resolved clinical signs of right sided heart affection; but, suddenly collapsed at home. The owner denied for the necropsy of dog.
PubMed: 36686865
DOI: 10.30466/vrf.2022.550981.3425 -
Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease Jan 2023Infective endocarditis (IE) is a life-threatening condition caused by infection within the endocardium of the heart and commonly involves the valves. The subsequent...
Infective endocarditis (IE) is a life-threatening condition caused by infection within the endocardium of the heart and commonly involves the valves. The subsequent cascading inflammation leads to the appearance of a highly friable thrombus that is large enough to become lodged within the heart chambers. As a result, fever, fatigue, heart murmurs, and embolization phenomena may be seen in patients with IE. Embolization results in the seeding of bacteria and obstruction of circulation, causing cell ischemia. Of concern, bacteria with the potential to gain pan-drug resistance, such as methicillin-resistant (MRSA), are increasingly being identified as the causative agent of IE in hospitals and among intravenous drug abusers. We retrospectively reviewed de-identified clinical data to summarize the clinical course of a patient with MRSA isolated using an automated blood culture system. At the time of presentation, the patient showed a poor consciousness level, and the calculated Glasgow scale was 10/15. A high-grade fever with circulatory shock indicated an occult infection, and a systolic murmur was observed with peripheral signs of embolization. This case demonstrated the emerging threat of antimicrobial resistance in the community and revealed clinical findings of IE that may be helpful to clinicians for the early recognition of the disease. The management of such cases requires a multi-specialty approach, which is not widely available in small-island developing states such as the Maldives.
PubMed: 36668960
DOI: 10.3390/tropicalmed8010053 -
MedEdPORTAL : the Journal of Teaching... 2022Physicians need adequate physical exam skills. Unfortunately, interns have variable physical exam skills, and teaching is often limited to rounds, an inconsistent...
INTRODUCTION
Physicians need adequate physical exam skills. Unfortunately, interns have variable physical exam skills, and teaching is often limited to rounds, an inconsistent setting. Physical exam skills, particularly those involving auscultation, require practice. Our goal was to create a cardiac physical exam workshop for pediatric interns that would improve their performance on an interactive assessment of their ability and understanding in physical exam and murmur interpretation.
METHODS
We completed a targeted needs assessment and then developed a 2-hour workshop on the pediatric cardiac physical exam targeted to pediatrics residents. The workshop included didactics, group discussion, and practice interpreting common pediatric murmurs. Pediatrics residents completed the assessment as a pretest and then participated in the workshop. At the end of the workshop, the assessment was administered as a posttest, followed by a reassessment 3 months later. Nonparametric statistical analysis was conducted. Pre- and posttest scores were compared using the Wilcoxon signed rank test.
RESULTS
Twenty-five residents completed the workshop, including 22 pediatrics residents, one pediatrics/anesthesia combined resident, one pediatric neurology resident, and one resident completing a preliminary year in pediatrics prior to dermatology residency. There was a significant increase in the mean score on the assessment from pre- to posttest (pretest = 54%, posttest = 71%, < .001). This increase was sustained at the 3-month reassessment ( = 67%).
DISCUSSION
This cardiac physical exam workshop demonstrated improvement in physical exam knowledge and interpretation ability as measured by an online pre-/posttest.
Topics: Child; Humans; Internship and Residency; Clinical Competence; Physical Examination; Heart Murmurs; Auscultation
PubMed: 36605544
DOI: 10.15766/mep_2374-8265.11289 -
Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health... Dec 2022To investigate interrater and intrarater agreement between physicians and medical students on heart sound classification from audio recordings, and factors predicting...
OBJECTIVE
To investigate interrater and intrarater agreement between physicians and medical students on heart sound classification from audio recordings, and factors predicting agreement with a reference classification.
DESIGN
Intra- and interrater agreement study.
SUBJECTS
Seventeen GPs and eight cardiologists from Norway and the Netherlands, eight medical students from Norway.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Proportion of agreement and kappa coefficients for intrarater agreement and agreement with a reference classification.
RESULTS
The proportion of intrarater agreement on the presence of any murmur was 83% on average, with a median kappa of 0.64 (range = 0.09-0.86) for all raters, and 0.65, 0.69, and 0.61 for GPs, cardiologist, and medical students, respectively.The proportion of agreement with the reference on any murmur was 81% on average, with a median kappa of 0.67 (range 0.29-0.90) for all raters, and 0.65, 0.69, and 0.51 for GPs, cardiologists, and medical students, respectively.Distinct murmur, more than five years of clinical practice, and cardiology specialty were most strongly associated with the agreement, with ORs of 2.41 (95% CI 1.63-3.58), 2.19 (1.58-3.04), and 2.53 (1.46-4.41), respectively.
CONCLUSION
We observed fair but variable agreement with a reference on heart murmurs, and physician experience and specialty, as well as murmur intensity, were the factors most strongly associated with agreement.Key points:Heart auscultation is the main physical examination of the heart, but we lack knowledge of inter- and intrarater agreement on heart sounds.• Physicians identified heart murmurs from heart sound recordings fairly reliably compared with a reference classification, and with fair intrarater agreement.• Both intrarater agreement and agreement with the reference showed considerable variation between doctors• Murmur intensity, more than five years in clinical practice, and cardiology specialty were most strongly linked to agreement with the reference.
Topics: Humans; Heart Murmurs; Heart Auscultation; Heart Sounds; Students, Medical; Cardiology; Reproducibility of Results
PubMed: 36598178
DOI: 10.1080/02813432.2022.2159204 -
The Journal of Tehran Heart Center Apr 2022Injuries to the heart and great vessels should always be considered after blunt chest trauma. Valvular damage rarely occurs after blunt trauma, but symptoms may be...
Injuries to the heart and great vessels should always be considered after blunt chest trauma. Valvular damage rarely occurs after blunt trauma, but symptoms may be delayed. A 58-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with exertional dyspnea (functional class III) and palpitations for elective transesophageal echocardiography. Her symptoms had exacerbated in the preceding 2 or 3 months. Physical examination showed holosystolic murmurs (IV/VI) at the lower sternal border with extension to the apex. Transesophageal echocardiography revealed avulsion of the base of the posterior mitral valve leaflet (P3) from the annulus. In the past medical history, there was a history of a motor vehicle accident 9 months earlier. The patient was recommended for mitral valve surgery. Mitral valve replacement was performed, and the diagnosis was confirmed by surgery. The patient was discharged without any complications.
PubMed: 36567937
DOI: 10.18502/jthc.v17i2.9845 -
Micromachines Dec 2022In light of a need for low-frequency, high sensitivity and broadband cardiac murmur signal detection, the present work puts forward an integrated MEMS-based heart sound...
In light of a need for low-frequency, high sensitivity and broadband cardiac murmur signal detection, the present work puts forward an integrated MEMS-based heart sound sensor with a hollow concave ciliary micro-structure. The advantages of a hollow MEMS structure, in contrast to planar ciliated micro-structures, are that it reduces the ciliated mass and enhances the operating bandwidth. Meanwhile, the area of acoustic-wave reception is enlarged by the concave architecture, thereby enhancing the sensitivity at low frequencies. By rationally designing the acoustic encapsulation, the loss of heart acoustic distortion and weak cardiac murmurs is reduced. As demonstrated by experimentation, the proposed hollow MEMS structure cardiac sound sensor has a sensitivity of up to -206.9 dB at 200 Hz, showing 6.5 dB and 170 Hz increases in the sensitivity and operating bandwidth, respectively, in contrast to the planar ciliated MEMS sensor. The SNR of the sensor is 26.471 dB, showing good detectability for cardiac sounds.
PubMed: 36557472
DOI: 10.3390/mi13122174 -
Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine 2022Cardiac auscultation is a traditional method that is most frequently used for identifying congenital heart disease (CHD). Failure to diagnose CHD may occur in patients...
BACKGROUND
Cardiac auscultation is a traditional method that is most frequently used for identifying congenital heart disease (CHD). Failure to diagnose CHD may occur in patients with faint murmurs or obesity. We aimed to develop an intelligent diagnostic method of detecting heart murmurs in patients with ventricular septal defects (VSDs) and atrial septal defects (ASDs).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Digital recordings of heart sounds and phonocardiograms of 184 participants were obtained. All participants underwent echocardiography by pediatric cardiologists to determine the type of CHD. The phonocardiogram data were classified as normal, ASD, or VSD. Then, the phonocardiogram signal was used to extract features to construct diagnostic models for disease classification using an advanced optical coherence tomography network (AOCT-NET). Cardiologists were asked to distinguish normal heart sounds from ASD/VSD murmurs after listening to the electronic sound recordings. Comparisons of the cardiologists' assessment and AOCT-NET performance were performed.
RESULTS
Echocardiography results revealed 88 healthy participants, 50 with ASDs, and 46 with VSDs. The AOCT-NET had no advantage in detecting VSD compared with cardiologist assessment. However, AOCT-NET performance was better than that of cardiologists in detecting ASD (sensitivity, 76.4 vs. 27.8%, respectively; specificity, 90 vs. 98.5%, respectively).
CONCLUSION
The proposed method has the potential to improve the ASD detection rate and could be an important screening tool for patients without symptoms.
PubMed: 36523363
DOI: 10.3389/fcvm.2022.1041082