scholarly journals Point‐of‐care ultrasound: Closing guideline gaps in screening for valvular heart disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (12) ◽  
pp. 1368-1375
Author(s):  
Muhammad Hammadah ◽  
Christopher Ponce ◽  
Paul Sorajja ◽  
João L. Cavalcante ◽  
Santiago Garcia ◽  
...  
Author(s):  
Yashasvi Chugh ◽  
Opema Lohese ◽  
Paul Sorajja ◽  
Ross Garberich ◽  
Lariss Stanberry ◽  
...  

Background: Despite continued efforts, the majority of patients with valvular heart disease (VHD) remain undiagnosed and untreated. This study aimed to assess the adoptability and accuracy of point-of-care handheld echocardiographic assessments (POCE) in the primary care setting. Methods: Eleven previously untrained primary care providers were trained to use the Vscan Extend (GE, WI) POCE to assess VHD, left ventricular function (LVEF), and major extra-cardiac findings. Their assessments were compared to those of 3 blinded expert readers. A total of 180 assessments were evaluated using Kappa statistics (κ) together with their estimated standard error, p-value, and 95% CI bounds. Results: Identical or nearly identical agreement between previously untrained primary providers and expert readers was evident for the diagnosis of tricuspid regurgitation, mitral regurgitation, pericardial effusion, volume status. These agreements were strongest in apical long axis (κ =1, p<0.001) and parasternal long and short axis views (k>=0.82 p<0.001), though agreement remained robust in apical 4-chamber views (k>=0.76). The agreements in LVEF assessment were identical in the apical long axis view (κ =1, p<0.001) and robust in the remaining 3 views (κ>=0.66, p<0.001). The assessments of aortic stenosis (parasternal/long, κ =0.42, and parasternal/short, κ =0.47, both p<0.001) were weak in their agreement. Conclusion: Compared to expert echocardiography readers, the untrained providers’ use of POCE for VHD shows high user adoptability and diagnostic accuracies in the primary care setting.


2021 ◽  
Vol 77 (18) ◽  
pp. 1711
Author(s):  
Opema Lohese ◽  
Ross Garberich ◽  
Larissa Stanberry ◽  
Paul Sorajja ◽  
Joao Cavalcante ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-224
Author(s):  
Ashley Rider ◽  
Andrea Dreyfuss ◽  
Roberto Inga

Ebstein’s anomaly is a congenital heart defect that when left untreated can lead to unique physical exam and ultrasound findings. This case describes a patient who presented with dyspnea and was found to have cyanosis, clubbing, and dilation of right-sided chambers on point-of-care ultrasound. The series of images highlights findings in late-stage Ebstein’s anomaly and serves as a springboard for the discussion of the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of this rare congenital heart disease.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (24) ◽  
pp. 5971
Author(s):  
Torsten Baehner ◽  
Marc Rohner ◽  
Ingo Heinze ◽  
Ehrenfried Schindler ◽  
Maria Wittmann ◽  
...  

Background: Central venous catheters (CVC) are commonly required for pediatric congenital cardiac surgeries. The current standard for verification of CVC positioning following perioperative insertion is postsurgical radiography. However, incorrect positioning may induce serious complications, including pleural and pericardial effusion, arrhythmias, valvular damage, or incorrect drug release, and point of care diagnostic may prevent these serious consequences. Furthermore, pediatric patients with congenital heart disease receive various radiological procedures. Although relatively low, radiation exposure accumulates over the lifetime, potentially reaching high carcinogenic values in pediatric patients with chronic disease, and therefore needs to be limited. We hypothesized that correct CVC positioning in pediatric patients can be performed quickly and safely by point-of-care ultrasound diagnostic. Methods: We evaluated a point-of-care ultrasound protocol, consistent with the combination of parasternal craniocaudal, parasternal transversal, suprasternal notch, and subcostal probe positions, to verify tip positioning in any of the evaluated views at initial CVC placement in pediatric patients undergoing cardiothoracic surgery for congenital heart disease. Results: Using the combination of the four views, the CVC tip could be identified and positioned in 25 of 27 examinations (92.6%). Correct positioning was confirmed via chest X-ray after the surgery in all cases. Conclusions: In pediatric cardiac patients, point-of-care ultrasound diagnostic may be effective to confirm CVC positioning following initial placement and to reduce radiation exposure.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica N. Persson ◽  
Jacqueline Holstein ◽  
Lori Silveira ◽  
Aimee Irons ◽  
Taufiek Konrad Rajab ◽  
...  

Purpose: Fluid overload is a common post-operative issue in children following cardiac surgery and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. There is currently no gold standard for evaluating fluid status. We sought to validate the use of point-of-care ultrasound to measure skin edema in infants and assess the intra- and inter-user variability.Methods: Prospective cohort study of neonates (≤30 d/o) and infants (31 d/o to 12 m/o) undergoing cardiac surgery and neonatal controls. Skin ultrasound was performed on four body sites at baseline and daily post-operatively through post-operative day (POD) 3. Subcutaneous tissue depth was manually measured. Intra- and inter-user variability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).Results: Fifty control and 22 surgical subjects underwent skin ultrasound. There was no difference between baseline surgical and control neonates. Subcutaneous tissue increased in neonates starting POD 1 with minimal improvement by POD 3. In infants, this pattern was less pronounced with near resolution by POD 3. Intra-user variability was excellent (ICC 0.95). Inter-user variability was very good (ICC 0.82).Conclusion: Point-of-care skin ultrasound is a reproducible and reliable method to measure subcutaneous tissue in infants with and without congenital heart disease. Acute increases in subcutaneous tissue suggests development of skin edema, consistent with extravascular fluid overload. There is evidence of skin edema starting POD 1 in all subjects with no substantial improvement by POD 3 in neonates. Point-of-care ultrasound could be an objective way to measure extravascular fluid overload in infants. Further research is needed to determine how extravascular fluid overload correlates to clinical outcomes.


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