Remote Teaching of Canine Cardiac Auscultation Using Digital Phonocardiograms

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Medicine
• Cardiology
• Medical Education

Background:

• Veterinary students frequently encounter challenges in accurately interpreting canine heart sounds.
• Effective diagnostic skills for heart murmurs and arrhythmias are crucial for veterinary practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of online training utilizing digital phonocardiograms (DPCGs) on veterinary students' interpretation of canine heart sounds.
• To compare the effectiveness of DPCG-based training (self-study website and online webinar) against a control group.

Main Methods:

• Thirty-six veterinary students were randomly assigned to either a training group (n=22) or a control group (n=14).
• Training involved a 4-week self-paced online module using DPCGs derived from recordings of normal heart sounds, murmurs, and arrhythmias.
• Students completed pre- and post-training assessments evaluating their ability to interpret cardiac auscultation recordings.

Main Results:

• Both training groups demonstrated significant within-group improvement in interpreting heart sounds (p = .024, p = .037), while the control group showed no significant change (p = .49).
• Trained students showed enhanced ability in detecting and specifying heart murmurs and refining diagnoses of arrhythmias.
• No significant difference was found between groups in differentiating normal sounds from arrhythmias.

Conclusions:

• Online DPCG training significantly improves veterinary students' skills in identifying canine heart murmurs and diagnosing arrhythmias.
• This training modality enhances diagnostic accuracy even without direct patient interaction.
• Further research with larger sample sizes is recommended to explore DPCG effectiveness for arrhythmias and cumulative training effects.