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Clinical Trial
. 1999 Nov;81(5):409-12.
doi: 10.1136/adc.81.5.409.

Accuracy of clinical assessment of heart murmurs by office based (general practice) paediatricians

I Haney  1 , M Ipp, W Feldman, B W McCrindle
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Accuracy of clinical assessment of heart murmurs by office based (general practice) paediatricians

I Haney et al. Arch Dis Child. 1999 Nov.

Abstract

Aim: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of physical examination by office based (general practice) paediatricians in the evaluation of heart murmurs.

Design: Each of 30 office based paediatricians blindly examined a random sample of children with murmurs (43% of which were pathological). Sensitivity and specificity were calculated and were related to paediatricians' characteristics.

Results: Mean (SD) sensitivity was 82 (24)% with a mean specificity of 72 (24)% in differentiating pathological from innocent murmurs, with further investigations requested for 54% of assessments. The addition of a referral strategy would have increased mean sensitivity to 87 (20)% and specificity to 98 (8)%. Diagnostic accuracy was not significantly related to the paediatricians' age, education or practice characteristics, but was related to referral practices and confidence in assessment.

Conclusions: Diagnostic accuracy of clinical assessment of heart murmurs by office based paediatricians is suboptimal, and educational strategies are needed to improve accuracy and reduce unnecessary referrals and misdiagnosis.

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