DR.MOHAMMED IRFAN SHEIKH8 months ago

Hearing Music while Checking a Pulse

A 65-year-old man who had previously undergone total arthroplasty of both hips was admitted to the hospital after a fall resulted in the dislocation of his right hip. He had no other injuries from the fall. A handheld Doppler device was used to assess the pulses in his feet. When the probe was placed on the dorsalis pedis of either foot, music could be heard from the device speaker in addition to the pulse (see video). This outcome occurred each time that the dorsalis pedis pulse was assessed in either foot and persisted when other handheld Doppler devices were used. The same Doppler devices did not receive music when used on hospital staff members. It was thought that the Doppler may have picked up a radio signal being received by one or both of the patient’s prosthetic hips, although other equipment in the room (such as the hospital bed) could have received the signal. Findings such as these should be reported to the facility’s engineering department for further investigation. In this case, no faulty equipment was identified. Eight months after this event, the patient was doing well and had had no further falls.