Littmann scopes. Anyone that has one, how do u like it?

swindlman said:
So anyone out there have a Littmann Classic II S.E. or a Littmann Cardiology III? What do you think about them?
I've heard they are both sweet scopes.

I'm looking to upgrade my current cheap scope that i have a hard time with unless it is completely silent where i am, which NEVER happens haha.
Ill be going through to the local paramedic program soon. i know they are no where cheap, but i don't have a problem with it since i look at it as an investment.
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Cardiology III in navy blue. Excellent for hearing sounds. Also the pediatric and adult sides is a nice feature.

Sasha said:
I really don't mean to sound snarky, but why do you need a Cardiology steth? Do you plan on diagnosing a heart murmur in the field?

If you can't hear korotkoff sounds with just your basic scope, you may not be listening correctly.

Now I may be a bit hypocritical, owning a Littman Lightweight, but I like the bell shape of it, it was $40, and the sprauges from the scrub shop kept breaking.
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I can't seem to get a good seal with the cheaper scopes. I tried out one of the spare littmans at a doctors office when I was shadowing one day and it was like WOW! The combination of the angles of the ear pieces and the ear tips makes it perfect. The only way I can hear anything with the cheaper scopes is to turn the ear pieces so they kind of make a "V" shape pointing away from me and squeeze both sides. Not really comfortable.

Anyone else have that problem? Or do I just have weird ear anatomy? :unsure:
 
Honestly a quality steth is a must to do a proper patient assessment. Note I said quality not expensive. There are some cheaper price that have great acoustics. You need to be able to get quality lung, heart, carotid, etc sounds if you are to treat patients properly. You need it to make your diagnosis.
 
medic417 said:
Honestly a quality steth is a must to do a proper patient assessment. Note I said quality not expensive. There are some cheaper price that have great acoustics. You need to be able to get quality lung, heart, carotid, etc sounds if you are to treat patients properly. You need it to make your diagnosis.
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Agreed. Best thing I would say is if you have to opportunity is to try out different scopes if you can. See what let's YOU hear the best.
 
One of the FTOs I've been working with has a Kila, which is a brand I had never seen before. I was playing with it while bored and yeah the acoustics are great, but I was picking up so much extra noise I couldn't hear the lung sounds or BP any better.

I have a Littmann Cardiology and I love it. No, I may not need to hear the most subtle of heart tones in the field, but in a crappy deisel ambulance bouncing down a gravel road it is nice to be able to hear the Pts BP.
 
trevor1189 said:
Anyone else have that problem? Or do I just have weird ear anatomy? :unsure:
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I think it's just you. Manufacturers know people's heads are all different. That's why they make the angle of the earpieces are adjustable on most stethoscopes, including the cheap ones.

The Cardiology II and III aren't particularly good choices for EMS. In fact, any dual head scope is a poor choice, in comparison to others. The design that allows you to twist the headpiece to alternate between heads creates an avenue for noise to enter your scope right where you are listening to your patient. A single head like the STC or the Master are much quieter, and I don't know many medics that know what a bell is for anyhow, so it's useless. Not to mention that the bulkier dual heads do not fit well under a BP cuff, meaning you have to hold the head with your fingers, creating even more noise.

Best choice: a single head scope with the thickest single tubing you can find, and comfortable, earpieces. Brand is not important.
 
AJ Hidell said:
I think it's just you. Manufacturers know people's heads are all different. That's why they make the angle of the earpieces are adjustable on most stethoscopes, including the cheap ones.
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I found the earpieces on many of the cheap ones terribly uncomfortable and harder to hear because they didn't fit in my ears good.
I use a Littman Classic S.E. and love it!
 
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paemt08 said:
AJ Hidell said:
I think it's just you. Manufacturers know people's heads are all different. That's why they make the angle of the earpieces are adjustable on most stethoscopes, including the cheap ones.
QUOTE]

I found the earpieces on many of the cheap ones terribly uncomfortable and harder to hear because they didn't fit in my ears good.
I use a Littman Classic S.E. and love it!
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Yeah my littman fit my ears right out of the box. The cheaper ones I always have to adjust before each use. Not very practical or quick.
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I like those scopes but I parsonnally have found a better one. I use a Magna Fortis cardiology with a HEPA (High Effientcy Point Amplification) diaphram. This scope is awesome. I can hear perfectly through mutiple layers of clothing and I can hear very well in the back of a moving ambulance.
 
bittner said:
I like those scopes but I parsonnally have found a better one. I use a Magna Fortis cardiology with a HEPA (High Effientcy Point Amplification) diaphram. This scope is awesome. I can hear perfectly through mutiple layers of clothing and I can hear very well in the back of a moving ambulance.
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How do you know those crackles are from the lungs and not the clothes? The same goes for a pleural rub? How do you know you haven't missed faint expiratory wheezes when you don't hear them through the multiple layers of clothing?

I can mimic just about every breath sound with clothing when I am teaching students.
 
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VentMedic said:
How do you know those crackles are from the lungs and not the clothes? The same goes for a pleural rub? How do you know you haven't missed faint expiratory wheezes when you don't hear them through the multiple layers of clothing?

I can mimic just about every breath sound with clothing when I am teaching students.
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Its skin or you fail in my class. People need to stop being afraid to look listen and feel. All needs to be done at the skin level not through clothes otherwise you have not done a proper exam.
 
Medic417 said it right there. You need to have skin contact to get a proper listen. I never listen to anything over clothes.
 
medic417 said:
Its skin or you fail in my class. People need to stop being afraid to look listen and feel. All needs to be done at the skin level not through clothes otherwise you have not done a proper exam.
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I'll sometimes do a BP over the clothes, just because it's a pain to pull their sleeve all the way up sometimes. And then, only if it's thin and tight enough.But I have NEVER listen to the lungs, heart, or abdomen over clothing. For me, the clothes themselves tend to make me hear a "crackling" noise.

Maybe Docs can get away with it, being in a nice quiet environment that doesn't move around, but there is no way we can hold still enough to get a good listen.

Oh, and by the buy: Littmann Cart. III myself. Got it for Christmas. LOVE it.
 
Good points, I do also listen at the skin level for lung sounds, but when a quick BP on a wreck scene, this scope works wonders. I will not trade it for anything.
 
Try an American Diagnostic Scope. I own the Adscope lightweight 609. It was half the cost of the littman select and littman lightweight. My service uses littman lightweights and my adscope lightweight performs just as well if not better. It is light and it has comfy eartips. The tubing is a bit long but you can cut it down an inch or two.
 
I got a Kila Master Cardiology for 40 including shipping on eBay. It has good sound and is comfortable and rugged.

I got a Littman tunable diaphram fpr 12 including shipping, and fitted it to the kila. Even better sound! It's fantastic!
 
I have had great experiences with Littman scopes, that is basically all we have around here, I have never really used anything else that compares to it.
 
bittner said:
Good points, I do also listen at the skin level for lung sounds, but when a quick BP on a wreck scene, this scope works wonders. I will not trade it for anything.
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How about $500?

By the way, Littman scopes suck.
 
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firecoins said:
How about $500?

By the way, Littman scopes suck.
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Is there a reason you don't like Littman scopes? What do you use? Just curious.
 
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