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Diagnostic accuracy of heart auscultation for detecting valve disease: a systematic review

Anne Herefoss Davidsen1, Stian Andersen2, Peder Andreas Halvorsen2

  • 1General Practice Research Unit, Department of Community Medicine, UiT The Arctic University, Tromso, Norway anne.h.davidsen@uit.no.

BMJ Open
|March 24, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Heart auscultation

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Diagnostic Accuracy
  • Internal Medicine

Background:

  • Valvular heart disease (VHD) diagnosis often relies on auscultation.
  • The diagnostic accuracy of auscultation for VHD needs clarification.

Approach:

  • A systematic literature search identified 23 diagnostic studies comparing heart auscultation to echocardiography or angiography.
  • Studies published between 1967 and 2021 were included.
  • Risk of bias was assessed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 tool.

Key Points:

  • Sensitivity for auscultation ranged from 30% to 100%, specificity from 28% to 100%, and likelihood ratios (LRs) from 1.35 to 26.
  • Data from general practice is sparse.
  • Most studies utilized cardiologists or internal medicine specialists.

Conclusions:

  • Diagnostic accuracy of auscultation for VHD varies significantly.
  • Medical doctors should not solely rely on auscultation for VHD detection.
  • Further research is required to integrate auscultation with other clinical findings for improved VHD diagnosis.
Abstract

Keywords:
Adult cardiologyMEDICAL EDUCATION & TRAININGPRIMARY CAREValvular heart disease

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