“The study underscores the utility of clinical examination in initial screening for commonly encountered congenital cardiac conditions in children even in the current era of echocardiography. It has demonstrated that stethoscope is fairly reliable in out-patient settings where the patients are relatively stable. However, the results of the study are truly valid for these settings only. They may not apply to in-patient settings, newborns with suspected heart disease, and situations where the doctors are not trained adequately in examining the heart and in using the stethoscope,” the doctor said.
ENDS …
AMRITA HOSPITAL, KOCHI (www.amritahospitals.org)
Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (Amrita Hospital), based in Kochi, is one of the premier hospitals in South Asia. Founded in 1998 by Mata Amritanandamayi Devi (known worldwide as Amma), it offers a full range of primary and speciality-care medical services. Amma’s vision of providing advanced medical care to the poor and disadvantaged was the inspiration for Amrita Hospital, which today is a 1,300-bed (490 units) tertiary referral and teaching hospital, serving more than 8 lakh outpatients and more than 50,000 inpatients annually.
The massive healthcare infrastructure with over 3.33 million sq.ft. of built-up area, spread over 125 acres of land, supports a daily patient volume of approximately 3,500 outpatients with 95 percent inpatient occupancy. There are 12 super-speciality departments, 45 other departments, 4,500 support staff and 670 faculty members. The hospital’s extensive infrastructure offers facilities comprising 28 modern operating theatres, 275 equipped intensive-care beds, a fully computerised and networked Hospital Information System (HIS), a fully digital radiology department, 17 NABL accredited clinical laboratories and 24/7 telemedicine service.
In 2015, South Asia’s first-ever Bilateral Hand Transplant Surgery was done at Amrita Hospital. The same year, Amrita Hospital won the British Medical Journal Award for the Best Surgical Team in South Asia. The Amrita team won the award for its two successful double hand transplants, the first and the second bilateral hand transplants in this region.
