Standard echocardiography versus handheld echocardiography for the detection of subclinical rheumatic heart disease: protocol for a systematic review.

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION:Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is a preventable and treatable chronic condition which persists in many developing countries largely affecting impoverished populations. Handheld echocardiography presents an opportunity to address the need for more cost-effective methods of diagnosing RHD in developing countries, where the disease continues to carry high rates of morbidity and mortality. Preliminary studies have demonstrated moderate sensitivity as well as high specificity and diagnostic odds for detecting RHD in asymptomatic patients. We describe a protocol for a systematic review on the diagnostic performance of handheld echocardiography compared to standard echocardiography using the 2012 World Heart Federation criteria for diagnosing subclinical RHD. METHODS AND ANALYSIS:Elec

SUBMITTER: Telford LH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5829946 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature