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Abstract:
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the major causes of perioperative complications. Screening of patients referred to major surgery is a costly and time and resources- consuming process. The study aimed to assess the usefulness of an electronic stethoscope with dedicated analytical software operated by a nurse for detecting heart disease in patients prepared for major orthopedic surgery. The study group consisted of 137 patients aged (46 – 91) with defined cardiovascular diseases qualified for hip or knee replacement surgery and 94 healthy age-matched volunteers. Heart auscultation with Littmann lectronic stethoscope using Littmann® StethAssist™ Heart and Lung Sound Visualization Software software was conducted and analyzed by a trained nurse. The signal recorded was analyzed by the blinded researcher using dedicated custom- made algorithm. Finally, 91 signals (52 CVD (+) patients, 39 CVD (-) patients) were analyzed. Eventually a classifier with a sensitivity of 92% and a specificity of 97% was obtained in a group. The global accuracy of the classifier was 95%. Heart auscultation by nursing staff using Littmann® StethAssist™ Heart and Lung Sound Visualization Software with dedicated custom- made can be cheap and noninvasive method of identifying patients with cardiovascular disease made algorithm for arthroplasty.

Keywords:
electronic stethoscope, heart auscultation, nurse, arthroplasty, cardiovascular disease