[The usefulness of Doppler in evaluating heart murmurs]

In two hundred and two patients with heart murmurs, the diagnosis obtained utilizing the physical exam were compared with the diagnosis arrived by echocardiography and color Doppler ultrasound. The comparisons revealed improvements in specificity with the utilization of echocardiography and color Doppler ultrasonography. It is concluded that these techniques represent a significant improvement in our diagnostic capabilities. The problems of overdependence in the ultrasound technique and the current loss of physical diagnosis skills is recognized.