OBJECTIVE To develop recommendations for positioning the second-generation pacing esophageal stethoscope for transesophageal atrial pacing in patients positioned prone (P), right lateral decubitus (RLD), and left lateral decubitus (LLD). DESIGN Prospective; patients assigned consecutively. SETTING Tertiary and university hospitals. PARTICIPANTS Thirty (10 in each position group) adult pat...

contemporary art. I’d like an Andy Warhol, but the price is not yet quite right!” D Zelko Roncevic, chief of the paediatric cardiology department, Clinical Hospital, Mostar, says, “I always have a feeling that cardiac sounds and murmurs are a kind of music. The heart has a rhythm, and the normal heart sounds have the semblance of bass guitar and drum sounds. Some heart murmurs have a musical di...

This year marks the 50th anniversary of echocardiography. The evolution of this noninvasive imaging modality has been impressive and has paralleled the rapid developments in microprocessor technology. Together with Doppler assessment of intracardiac haemodynamics, a comprehensive and diagnostic evaluation of most patients suspected of having heart disease is now possible. The method introduced ...

CONTEXT The stethoscope is a universal tool in the hospital that is in direct contact with many patients and can therefore be a vector in the dissemination of bacterial infections. OBJECTIVE To research the presence of bacteria, fungi and yeast on the stethoscope diaphragm and the resistance of bacteria to antimicrobial drugs. DESIGN Descriptive, prospective, non-controlled. SETTING A ter...

As the curtains of the dark ages parted there was newly inspired interest in science and medicine. The 1600–1800s proved to be a remarkable era of technological development. In a span of only 100 years, the thermometer, microscope, and instrumentation for the measurement of blood pressure and respiration came into being (Trefil, 2001). Equally important was the discovery in 1791 by Austrian phy...