Stethoscope preference

Do you really need to use a pediatric stethoscope for kids?

I've never had to switch from the littman liteweight..
 
for bls, the cheapest scope on the market is quite sufficient, as most basics arent taught and cant recognize adventitious breath sounds and are only responsible for assesing for the presence or absence of sounds in all fields.
 
RESQ_5_1 said:
It's only an object. I don't really get upset when something breaks/goes missing. It can easily be replaced.
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Can you please lose one in my direction then?
 
I'm going to have to put a plug in for the Doctors Research Group Symphony stethoscope. Good acoustics, comfortable ear pieces, and the option to use disposable antimicrobial diaphragms. http://www.allheart.com/drgsytr01.html
 
I have one of their puretones. They are great scopes. The only problem I have found with them is you must replace the covers often. The covers are used as the diaphragm on them. Once they start stretching to much, you lose the quality acoustics.

Other then that, they are great scopes. The Puretone uses a spiral core in the tube. That helps block out ambient noise. Plus, the gel filled ear pieces are the most comfortable I have seen on any scope!
 
KEVD18 said:
for bls, the cheapest scope on the market is quite sufficient, as most basics arent taught and cant recognize adventitious breath sounds and are only responsible for assesing for the presence or absence of sounds in all fields.
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I am actually at the BLS level. But, unlike Basics in the states, we are taught to listen for wheezes, crackles, rales, etc. Mostly because we are allowed to give nebs for breathing difficulty.
 
JPINFV said:
Can you please lose one in my direction then?
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I will personally drive by your station while you're on duty and see if one happens to fall out of the rig.
 
reaper said:
The only problem I have found with them is you must replace the covers often. The covers are used as the diaphragm on them. Once they start stretching to much, you lose the quality acoustics.
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They recommend that the soft seal diaphragms be replaced once a week. I'm tempted to pick up a box of them if business ever picks up at my current place.
 
JPINFV said:
They recommend that the soft seal diaphragms be replaced once a week. I'm tempted to pick up a box of them if business ever picks up at my current place.
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That is what they recommend. That can get a little expensive. I change mine about every 3-4 weeks. I clean them daily. I can tell when they are needing to be changed. It is also nice with the covers, that you never have a cold scope against the skin!
 
Explorer127 said:
Do you really need to use a pediatric stethoscope for kids?

I've never had to switch from the littman liteweight..
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THat's cause it has the pedi bell
 
Med schools turning away littmans? They usually invite the reps to come along with welch alyn to sell the poor broke students expensive diagnostic sets.

ADC makes some pretty cool alternatives. While it may be true that many (but not all) EMTs cannot gain any benefit from expensive high quality stethoscopes, some of you may find that you respect what you do enough to buy good quality products that last and preform.

One day, through practice, you will hear those gallops that the master cardiology is made for. (Not me..not yet)
 
daedalus said:
Med schools turning away littmans? They usually invite the reps to come along with welch alyn to sell the poor broke students expensive diagnostic sets.

ADC makes some pretty cool alternatives. While it may be true that many (but not all) EMTs cannot gain any benefit from expensive high quality stethoscopes, some of you may find that you respect what you do enough to buy good quality products that last and preform.

One day, through practice, you will hear those gallops that the master cardiology is made for. (Not me..not yet)
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I have a very good littman, mostly because I got it at 50% off at a nursing supply store going out of business and liquidating. It is made by 3M, like many other scopes on the market. So just because the manufacturing standards for Littman are tighter, doesn't mean you can't get lucky with another brand that fell into the perfect machining.

I am sure there are many quality brands, so it is really a preference. I don't like things with batteries. I have become proficent with the single diaphragm, don't think I would go back to a double.

You don't need a master cardio to hear gallops and murmers, you need to learn where and what to listen for. Most of the steths starting at around $25should do you if you know how to use it. I suggest to my students and peers a master classic or comparable will probably be more than you'll ever need.
 
The only stethoscope I use (personally) is a Littman.

I was given a Littman Cardiology III for christmas by another medic I know... love it! :D
 
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I have a Cardiology 3. I listen to a lot of lung sounds with it. I can get better pressure measurement in a moving truck using the 10 dollar fisher price ones that are in the back of our trucks.
 
A nicer scope really does make a big difference. As a Basic I loved my trusty Classic II SE but as a paramedic, I was blown away by the greater ease of hearing and differentiating lung sounds with my Master Cardio.

The less expensive scope was fine for my needs as a Basic, but I found I needed a little more as a medic. It's ok to splurge a little if it's worth it to you. Just be sure to keep that thing in your sight at all times, or you might see it later around the neck of some MD or one of your coworkers.
 
mikeN said:
I have a Cardiology 3. I listen to a lot of lung sounds with it. I can get better pressure measurement in a moving truck using the 10 dollar fisher price ones that are in the back of our trucks.
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Exact same here.

P.S. for all of those that love their Littmanns so much you should prove how much you love them by learning that there's 2 T's and 2 N's in the brand name.
 
I use the adscope lite 609 made by American Diagnostic Corperation. It works wonderfully for blood pressure and very basic lung sounds. Its comparable to the Littman Lightweight and it even costs less. The jump kits I use carry littman lightweights but I prefer to use my Adscope 609.
 
Littmann Liteweight II i love the elongated bell. altho mine is Seafoam Green... its kinda unique in my group.
 
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