finding the right stethoscope. which do you use?

[neoboi]

i've tried every "economy brand" almost, andd i havent liked any of them. I am a total Littmann fan! I use a classic II se, but, i really like the master classic II. and if i had the inclination to spend a large sum of money, i'd buy either the cardiology III, or the S.T.C, what i like about the littmanns are the vaccuum that occurs when you put them in you ears, it really helps cut thru all the noise, espically if you have to get off scene in a hurry and en route to the hospital quickly.

[ladyknight]

I use a Littman Select personally...got it for $55 and it's served me well. The only strong recommendation I'll make is that you get one with single-lumen tubing. I've found that double-tubes really do bounce off each other a fair amount, and the less experience you have taking lung sounds and BP's, the more of a problem that is. Whenever I'm helping someone with lung sounds and BP's and they have a double tube, I normally end up having them use mine. Makes all the difference in the world.

[uglymedic]

I think it's all based on personal preference. I would recommend borrowing as many as possible. I do not hesitate do ask an ER nurse for their stethoscope to listen to lung sounds one last time before turning over patient care. Especially if it looks like a nice one. (Stethoscope not nurse!)

I borrowed a particularly nice electronic stethoscope from a (hot!) nurse and it worked great! Especially considering my hearing deficits (from ^&%$##@& sirens all these years!). I can't remember the exact price but it seemed reasonable considering the quality. Of course, it wasn't in the back of a moving ambulance.

My stethoscope is the best. It's a cheap-o Littman. The best part is: it was free! Unclaimed in the back of a rig for two weeks, and no messages from anybody about a lost stethoscope.

I prefer the littmans compared to the cheapie spragues just because of the soft-seal ear pieces compared to the nasty hard ones of the cheap-o's. Gets a better seal, etc. as mentioned before. Plus, on spragues, the separate tubes have a tendency to bang into each other in the back of a moving rig.

RidRyder, calling someone a "whacker" just because they want/have a nice stethoscope is like calling someone an idiot because they spent $100 on a nice pair of boots. You get what you pay for.

ug

p.s. I understand the reason behind putting entire articles in threads but isn't there a way to get the Cliff's Notes version and post the link too?

[uglymedic]

Also, look in the earpieces of the "community stethoscopes" once and you will realize why you want your own 'scope!

ug

[bassnmedic]

Here is a link to a pretty good deal on a scope , go to ebay and search - cardiology II - there 28.00+shipping.

Thinking about getting one not a bad price, also check out www.bigshears.com there a little

i just bought one last week......so far i am very impressed with it. Thick tubing, soft earpieces and extra earpieces. I believe it is well worth the money, I have used a CardiologyII for several years and this big shears is as good as the cardiology II......just my opinion. And yes, it was only 28.00 = shipping.

Todd

[ewfc19]

I used to have a Littmann Cardiology III, until I used my partner's stethoscope one day and I was sold. He had a Doctor's Research Group (DRG) Puretone Cardiology stethoscope, and it ran circles around my Littmann. Not only that, but it is cheaper. The DRG Puretone Cardiology has a metal coil wrapped in neoprene that runs the length of the stethoscope to help block out external noise. Also, it has gel seal ear tips to help get a better seal in your ear and block noise. It is amazing. I used to have trouble determining tube placement with my Littmann, but I haven't had any doubts since I bout my DRG. The cardiology model is $135, and they have a traditional model, which I bought for my wife and I can't tell a difference between her's and mine. The traditional is $78. Here is a link to Emergency Medical Products, which is where I bought mine: Emergency Medical Products

I use the same 'scope.... I love it. I bought it on close-out at a local bookstore 2 years ago as a spare scope, and it is the only one I use... I didn't know about the coil inside, though... that sounds cool.

I also own a Littmann Master Classic and a Litmann Select... they both work great. One was a gift recently, and Master Classic I've had for several years.

A year ago, on a lark, I bought a $15 "cardiology" knockoff scope on eBay... I put a pair of good, comfortable eartips on it, and a DRG "SafeSeal" diaghpram on it, and as far as I can tell, it works about as good as my Littmanns do... and it is "one of a kind"

I guess I collect stethoscopes... the advantage of this is that I can keep 1 in my bag of stuff for work, 1 with the stuff I carry at the vollie squad, etc.

I prefer my personal stethoscope(s) over the communal ones in the ambulances... Why?

.Less noise from the 2 tubes of a cheap sprague rubbing against each other

.Better fit in my ears than the hard plastic tips of a sprague or "dual head scope"

.Cleaner... I KNOW where my stethoscope has been.

[Oilersfan1]

I will not use a community scope I prefer the Littmann Master Cardiology.

Cheers

[JakeEMTP]

.Cleaner... I KNOW where my stethoscope has been.

Was there ever a better reason to obtain your own stethoscope?

[BushyFromOz]

Classic 2 SE why? Three words for you....TAX WRITE OFF....

Besides, we got a group rate and i only paid 60 bucks for it Au...not bad seeing you pay 130 for em here.......and when i get my return ill have paid like 40 for it....

Oh how useful it is when your mates mum owns a pharmacy....

So does anyone have one of the electronic scopes for EMS? cause if you do you need to prioritise man

[richard_pfister]

I think it's all based on personal preference. I would recommend borrowing as many as possible. I do not hesitate do ask an ER nurse for their stethoscope to listen to lung sounds one last time before turning over patient care. Especially if it looks like a nice one. (Stethoscope not nurse!)

I borrowed a particularly nice electronic stethoscope from a (hot!) nurse and it worked great! Especially considering my hearing deficits (from ^&%$##@& sirens all these years!). I can't remember the exact price but it seemed reasonable considering the quality. Of course, it wasn't in the back of a moving ambulance.

My stethoscope is the best. It's a cheap-o Littman. The best part is: it was free! Unclaimed in the back of a rig for two weeks, and no messages from anybody about a lost stethoscope.

I prefer the littmans compared to the cheapie spragues just because of the soft-seal ear pieces compared to the nasty hard ones of the cheap-o's. Gets a better seal, etc. as mentioned before. Plus, on spragues, the separate tubes have a tendency to bang into each other in the back of a moving rig.

RidRyder, calling someone a "whacker" just because they want/have a nice stethoscope is like calling someone an idiot because they spent $100 on a nice pair of boots. You get what you pay for.

ug

p.s. I understand the reason behind putting entire articles in threads but isn't there a way to get the Cliff's Notes version and post the link too?

Just sort of jumping in the middle of the price, I picked up the Classic II SE. It's okay. Not great. I will never again get a dual-sided stethoscope for pre-hospital use. Even if the head has a rotating face, you still get tons of background noise into the scope. I have had better luck with those cheapo single-sided stethoscopes that come with BP cuffs in the back of the truck for BPs. I have a big problem with the rubber non-chill ring and the diaphragm coming off the Littman. This sucks because it's not usable without the diaphragm, and that replacing it costs about $5 each time.

As far as breath sounds, I've not noticed any appreciable difference between the mid-line littmans. In the hospital yesterday, the RT had a cheap littman. Some aluminium thing that was really flimsy and lightweight. About a $30 stethoscope vs the $62 the Classic II SE goes for. Guess who was better at getting the nuances of lung sounds. Not me.

Part of it is obviously skill with discerning adventitious sounds from normal sounds, and part of it is placement. Just a little movement around can make a huge difference. But there's so much subjectivity. I have seen experienced CCRNs and physicians argue amongst themselves about whether this or that sound exists and to what level.

The flight medics like the Littman Master Classic IIs. If anyone knows about ambient noise, it's them. Half the time I get BPs that aren't very reliable anyway, and I hate walking in convinced that the pt has a BP of 140/88 only to see it be something different on the machine because I was fighting the noise. I have seen other medics do it. I like to palpate the BP if it's really noisy and not futz with the half-assed approach. All I really need is the systolic in many situations. If nurses and doctors want to bitch because my pressures weren't spot on, they're welcome to come for a ride and see how they fair.

Lung sounds are part of the overall patient assessment; they're not the be all end all of it. I think that in some cases, getting a $50 scope, and spending the other $100 on continuing education would be of more use than a $150 scope.

As heart sounds go, I'm not going to put a stent in pre-hospitally or listen for regurtation. If they're present and match the palpated pulse, that's okay with me.