Evaluation of a digital stethoscope for electrocardiographic recording in donkeys: Preliminary results.
Authors: Bozzola Chiara, Ortolina Asia, Guffanti Ilaria, Alberti Elena, Bronzo Valerio, Zucca Enrica
Journal: Journal of equine veterinary science
Summary
# Editorial Summary Smartphone-based digital stethoscopes offer a portable alternative to traditional electrocardiographic equipment, but their reliability in donkey cardiology has remained unexplored until now. Researchers simultaneously recorded standard base-apex lead ECGs and single-lead digital stethoscope ECGs in 37 donkeys, comparing measurements of heart rate, waveform morphology, intervals, and artefact presence between the two methods. The digital stethoscope produced interpretable tracings in 100% of animals and demonstrated perfect agreement with standard ECG for rhythm classification and P-wave polarity, alongside strong agreement for manually and automatically calculated heart rates, QRS and T-wave polarity, and PR interval duration; notably, however, measurements of waveform duration and amplitude (P-wave, QRS complex, and T-wave) showed poor agreement between methods. Whilst these preliminary findings suggest the digital stethoscope could serve as a practical field tool for rapid arrhythmia detection and rhythm assessment in donkeys, practitioners should be cautious about relying on it for detailed morphological analysis or precise interval quantification where diagnostic accuracy is critical. Further validation in larger donkey populations and across diverse clinical presentations would strengthen confidence in this device as a complementary screening tool for equine practitioners working with donkeys in remote or resource-limited settings.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Digital stethoscope ECG is a practical, cost-effective tool for field assessment of donkey cardiac rhythms and heart rate in clinical practice
- •Reliable for determining basic cardiac rhythm and wave polarity but should not be used for precise measurement of ECG intervals and amplitudes in donkeys
- •Smartphone-based recording allows simultaneous ECG and heart sound assessment, improving efficiency of donkey cardiac evaluations
Key Findings
- •Digital stethoscope ECG tracings were interpretable in 100% of donkeys (37/37)
- •Perfect agreement found between standard and digital stethoscope ECG for heart rhythm classification and P-wave polarity
- •Strong agreement demonstrated for heart rate measurement, QRS complex polarity, and T-wave polarity
- •No agreement found for P-wave duration, QRS complex duration and amplitude, and T-wave duration measurements