Low-Cost Echocardiography for Rheumatic Heart Disease Screening

Handheld echocardiography was superior to auscultation in identifying rheumatic heart disease and aortic insufficiency among Ugandan schoolchildren.

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) continues to be a major health problem in developing countries. In detection of RHD, standard echocardiography (STAND) is known to be superior to cardiac auscultation, but its cost is significant. To determine whether a lower-cost option, handheld echocardiography (HAND), performs better than standard auscultation, researchers compared diagnostic performance in an observational study involving 4773 Ugandan schoolchildren.

All children underwent screening with STAND, which was considered the gold standard test. Among 1317 children who underwent all three tests (mean age, 10.8 years), STAND identified 45 children with definite RHD and 126 with borderline RHD. The sensitivity of HAND for detection of definite or bo…

Reviewing Author

F. Bruder Stapleton, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardCareer Physician

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican Society of Pediatric Nephrology Foundation (Chair)

F. Bruder Stapleton, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardCareer Physician

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican Society of Pediatric Nephrology Foundation (Chair)

Low-Cost Echocardiography for Rheumatic Heart Disease Screening

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Reviewing Author