quantitative stethoscope comparisons?

Can't make a wrong choice when it's a Littmann! I plan on getting a middle-of-the-line Littmann... right now I have a lightweight, and I will be trading up, soon. It's good enough to pick up mitral heart murmurs. I've seen some new models, with a different shap; no longer that round shape. Those sounds real good. A master classic II would be good enough, I think.

I saw an oval/teardrop shaped diaphragm on a Littman last week. The RT who had it claimed it was specific to picking up breath sounds. Neato. I saw a comparison page for sensitivity, weight, price, etc. when I was shopping but it was only comparing electronic stethoscopes. And of course, every page that advertises a particular scope says it's THE one.

Don't forget the ultrascope! I love mine! :) I really haven't read any reviews about sensitivity, though. I went by nurse's experiences. My mother is an RN and loves her ultrascope so she bought me one for Christmas. The only thing I ever worry about is someone walking off with it.

hello,

I've noticed that when a question similar to "Which stethoscope should I buy?" is asked in the forums, there are two "camps" that answer--one advising to buy nothing less than the Littmann Cardio III and the other recommending nothing better than the Sprague-Rappaport. Along similar lines, if I asked which car I should buy, people would probably either recommend a Mercedes SL500 or a Kia Rio! (I own a very practical Subaru Forester).

I am a student in the last semester of the ADN program. I bought a Littmann Cardio III. I have to tell you, my clinical instructor had a Littmann cheaper model (don't remember the model!) but I could hear lung sounds better with the cheaper model. It all boils down to tubing length, the shorter the tubing the better you are going to hear. I wish I would have known this before investing in the LIttmann Cardio III. As a side note, I would go with the Mercedes SL500 :rotfl:

Lu Ann

Depends on a few factors. What are you going to use it for? If you need to hear quiet murmurs then you should have a high end scope. If you are not working in an area that is that detailed a good, but lower end scope should work fine. The bottom line is to try them out first, and go with what you like and feel comfortable with.

And addressing the matter of the "scope walking away". Does not say much for the honor of nurses now does it.

Chet

There are many that work on the unit, not just nurses..............unfortunately.

True, but I am on many other forums , crit care, trauma, PA and NP forums. I never hear anyone complain of losing their scope. It all seems to come from nurses. I have lost one scope, as a paramedic and know who took it. She took it when she left the company. Not an accident I am sure.

Chet

Where I work, it's not the nurses you have to worry about. Doctors walk off with stethoscopes all of the time. Jeesh!

For what it's worth.... when I was in nursing school, using a Littman Classic SE II, I was able to hear a grade 2 murmur without even knowing what it was.... I had to ask an instructor if it was anything because we all knew I didn't have a clue what I was doing, and she took forever hearing it with hers.... we didn't know the Pt. had a murmur before I listened - looked in the history and it was graded 2 by the cardiologist....

Looking back now, that's pretty darn good if you ask me. Now, I'm looking for something that will help me a little more with lung sounds. I can pick up heart sounds great with that same steth....

For the record - don't buy anything cheap if you know you'll be in the field for the long haul... you'll regret it when you realized you could have just spent the extra cash to begin with to get a good one.

I'm still pretty impressed with mine, but it's getting a little worn out and I'm hoping to get one better than I have.... I like the idea of a tunable diaphram....

Do they work?

I bought a pink Littman Classic II during the first semester of nursing school. After convincing my DH that I NEEDED a better scope and that although the price seemed like a lot it would last a long time and be worth, I bought the all black master cardiology for myself. After about a week of wondering what the heck was wrong with my neck - it was so achy - I realized the darn scope was the culprit. It is very heavy because of the thicker tubing. (I secretly hate it for this reason)

I had one of the cheaper littman models for the last 5-6 years. I think I paid about 50 for it. It was oval shaped and did not have a bell; rather, it had only one listening surface. I didn't know what to do with the bell, anyhow. I work on an acute medical floor, and it is fine for that.

I've upgraded my education a bit (RN working on BSN) and recently completed a health assessment class. While most of the class was nothing new to me, I did develop a greater understanding about the heart and the various heart sounds. A couple of weeks ago, my Littmann stopped working (everyone had diminished breath sounds and distant heart sounds...). I bought the Littmann Classic II SE. Wow, what a difference.

Part of the difference is my increasing knowledge (I actually do now know what the bell is for!!!), and part of the "wow" is that the Classic is a better stethoscope than the one I had before.

Will it improve my practice, this stethoscope? Probably not much, if any at all. If I worked in the ICU, I would definitely upgrade to an even higher grade stethoscope. Likewise, if I were doing physical assessments in an office of some sort, I'd want the higher grade. I'm not currently working in a setting where I need to differentiate between a grade 2 and grade 3 murmur, or where I'm auscultating for bruits, etc. But I'm at the point in my practice now where I do appreciate having a nicer stethoscope. The theory I'm learning in class is nicely complimented and reinforced by my practice at work, now that I can hear better! Again, not that it makes a difference in the overall care I provide. I do feel it makes me a better nurse overall, though. More knowledge never hurt.