scholarly journals Point of Care Ultrasound Accurately Distinguishes Inflammatory from Noninflammatory Disease in Patients Presenting with Abdominal Pain and Diarrhea

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerri L. Novak ◽  
Deepti Jacob ◽  
Gilaad G. Kaplan ◽  
Emma Boyce ◽  
Subrata Ghosh ◽  
...  

Background. Approaches to distinguish inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) from noninflammatory disease that are noninvasive, accurate, and readily available are desirable. Such approaches may decrease time to diagnosis and better utilize limited endoscopic resources. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy for gastroenterologist performed point of care ultrasound (POCUS) in the detection of luminal inflammation relative to gold standard ileocolonoscopy.Methods. A prospective, single-center study was conducted on convenience sample of patients presenting with symptoms of diarrhea and/or abdominal pain. Patients were offered POCUS prior to having ileocolonoscopy. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) with 95% confidence intervals (CI), as well as likelihood ratios, were calculated.Results. Fifty-eight patients were included in this study. The overall sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were 80%, 97.8%, 88.9%, and 95.7%, respectively, with positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR) of 36.8 and 0.20.Conclusion. POCUS can accurately be performed at the bedside to detect transmural inflammation of the intestine. This noninvasive approach may serve to expedite diagnosis, improve allocation of endoscopic resources, and facilitate initiation of appropriate medical therapy.

CJEM ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 732-735 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sameer Sharif ◽  
Steven Skitch ◽  
Dean Vlahaki ◽  
Andrew Healey

ABSTRACTObjectivesAppendicitis is a common surgical condition that frequently requires diagnostic imaging. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) is the gold standard for diagnosing appendicitis. Ultrasound offers a radiation-free modality; however, its availability outside business hours is limited in many emergency departments (EDs). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the test characteristics of emergency physician-performed point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) to diagnose appendicitis in a Canadian ED.MethodsA health records review was performed on all ED patients who underwent POCUS to diagnose appendicitis from December 1, 2010 to December 4, 2015. The sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios were calculated. The gold standard used for diagnosis was pathology, laparoscopy, CT scans, and a radiologist-performed ultrasound.ResultsNinety patients were included in the study, and 24 were diagnosed with appendicitis on POCUS. Ultimately, 18 were confirmed to have appendicitis through radiologist-performed imaging, laparoscopy, and pathology. The sensitivity and specificity of POCUS to diagnose appendicitis were 69.2% (95% CI, 48.1%-84.9%) and 90.6% (95% CI, 80.0%-96.1%), respectively.ConclusionPOCUS has a high specificity for diagnosing acute appendicitis and has very similar characteristics to those of a radiologist-performed ultrasound. These findings are consistent with the current literature and have the potential to decrease patient morbidity, diagnostic delays, ED length of stay, and need for additional imaging.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wan-Ching Lien ◽  
Jia-Yu Chen ◽  
Pei-Hsiu Wang ◽  
Dean-An Ling ◽  
An-Fu Lee ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: The retrospective study aimed to investigate the effect of point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) by a designated protocol for patients with abdominal distention.Methods: Non-traumatic adult patients with abdominal distention were included at the emergency department (ED) of the National Taiwan University Hospital between July 2015 and July 2017. A sonographic scanning protocol (FASK, the focused assessment with sonography in trauma plus the renal US) was included in the post-graduate year and residency US training. The primary outcome included the diagnostic accuracy of the FASK protocol. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of the protocol were calculated that discharge/admission diagnosis was as the standard. The secondary outcomes included ED LOS and the rate of ED discharge using the FASK protocol.Results: A total of 512 patients were included. The accuracy of the FASK protocol was 99.0% (507/512), whatever the level of the performer. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were 99.4% (95% CIs, 98.2-99.9%), 100% (95% CIs, 100%), 99.6% (95% CIs, 98.6-100%), and 99% (95% CIs, 97.7-99.7%), respectively. 397 patients (78%) were discharged with the median LOS of 126 minutes (IQR, 84-236 minutes) after receiving PoCUS and proper management. PoCUS was performed approximately 3 hours earlier than CT (median, 179 minutes; IQR, 90-468 minutes; p<0.0001).Conclusions: A simple FASK protocol could be an effective screening tool for non-critical patients with abdominal distention. Being an adjunct of physical examination and management, PoCUS exhibited characteristics of efficacy, timeliness, and safety.Trial registration: NCT04149041 at ClinicalTrials.gov.


CJEM ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (S1) ◽  
pp. S18-S18
Author(s):  
P. Atkinson ◽  
N. Beckett ◽  
D. Lewis ◽  
A. Banerjee ◽  
J. Fraser ◽  
...  

Introduction: Electrocardiographic (ECG) rhythms are used during resuscitation (ACLS) to guide resuscitation, and often to determine futility. Survival rates to hospital discharge have been reported to be higher for patients with PEA than asystole in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. This study examines how well the initial ECG cardiac rhythm represents actual cardiac activity as determined by point of care ultrasound (PoCUS). Methods: A database review was completed for patients arriving to a tertiary ED in asystole or PEA arrest, from 2010 to 2014. Patients under 19y or with a previous DNR were excluded. Patients were grouped into those with cardiac activity (PEA) and asystole on ECG; as well as whether cardiac activity was seen on PoCUS during the arrest. Data was analyzed for visualized cardiac activity on PoCUS. Results: 186 patients met the study criteria. Those with asystole on ECG were more likely to have no cardiac activity than those with PEA (Odds 7.21 for initial PoCUS; 5.45 for any PoCUS). The sensitivity of ECG rhythm was 80.49% and 82.12%, specificity was 77.91% and 54.28%, positive predictive value was 94.28% and 88.57%, and negative predictive value was 30.43% and 41.30% for cardiac activity on initial PoCUS and on any PoCUS respectively. The positive and negative likelihood ratios for ECG were 3.47 and 0.25 for activity on initial PoCUS. The positive and negative likelihood ratios for activity on any PoCUS were 1.78 and 0.33. Conclusion: Our results suggest that although most patients with asystole on ECG demonstrate no cardiac activity, a small number actually had activity on PoCUS. This supports the use of PoCUS during cardiac arrest, in addition to ECG, to identify patients with ongoing mechanical cardiac activity.


Author(s):  
Francesca Cortellaro ◽  
Cristiano Perani ◽  
Linda Guarnieri ◽  
Laura Ferrari ◽  
Michela Cazzaniga ◽  
...  

Diagnostics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ukweh ◽  
Ugbem ◽  
Okeke ◽  
Ekpo

Background: Ultrasound is operator-dependent, and its value and efficacy in fetal morphology assessment in a low-resource setting is poorly understood. We assessed the value and efficacy of fetal morphology ultrasound assessment in a Nigerian setting. Materials and Methods: We surveyed fetal morphology ultrasound performed across five facilities and followed-up each fetus to ascertain the outcome. Fetuses were surveyed in the second trimester (18th–22nd weeks) using the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology (ISUOG) guideline. Clinical and surgical reports were used as references to assess the diagnostic efficacy of ultrasound in livebirths, and autopsy reports to confirm anomalies in terminated pregnancies, spontaneous abortions, intrauterine fetal deaths, and still births. We calculated sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, Area under the curve (AUC), Youden index, likelihood ratios, and post-test probabilities. Results: In total, 6520 fetuses of women aged 15–46 years (mean = 31.7 years) were surveyed. The overall sensitivity, specificity, and AUC were 77.1 (95% CI: 68–84.6), 99.5 (95% CI: 99.3–99.7), and 88.3 (95% CI: 83.7–92.2), respectively. Other performance metrics were: positive predictive value, 72.4 (95% CI: 64.7–79.0), negative predictive value, 99.6 (95% CI: 99.5–99.7), and Youden index (77.1%). Abnormality prevalence was 1.67% (95% CI: 1.37–2.01), and the positive and negative likelihood ratios were 254 (95% CI: 107.7–221.4) and 0.23 (95% CI: 0.16–0.33), respectively. The post-test probability for positive test was 72% (95% CI: 65–79). Conclusion: Fetal morphology assessment is valuable in a poor economics setting, however, the variation in the diagnostic efficacy across facilities and the limitations associated with the detection of circulatory system anomalies need to be addressed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaun S. C. Ho ◽  
Michael Ross ◽  
Jacqueline I. Keenan ◽  
Andrew S. Day

Introduction: Fecal calprotectin (FC) is a useful non-invasive screening test but elevated levels are not specific to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The study aimed to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of FC alone or FC in combination with other standard blood tests in the diagnosis of IBD.Methods: Children aged &lt;17 years who had FC (normal range &lt;50 μg/g) measured and underwent endoscopy over 33 months in Christchurch, New Zealand were identified retrospectively (consecutive sampling). Medical records were reviewed for patient final diagnoses.Results: One hundred and two children were included; mean age was 12.3 years and 53 were male. Fifty-eight (57%) of the 102 children were diagnosed with IBD: 49 with Crohn's disease, eight with ulcerative colitis and one with IBD-unclassified. FC of 50 μg/g threshold provided a sensitivity of 96.6% [95% confident interval (CI) 88.3–99.4%] and PPV of 72.7% (95% CI 61.9–81.4%) in diagnosing IBD. Two children with IBD however were found to have FC &lt;50 μg/g. Sensitivity in diagnosing IBD was further improved to 98.3% (95% CI 90.7–99.1%) when including FC &gt;50 μg/g or elevated platelet count. Furthermore, PPVs in diagnosing IBD improved when FC at various thresholds was combined with either low albumin or high platelet count.Conclusion: Although FC alone is a useful screening test for IBD, a normal FC alone does not exclude IBD. Extending FC to include albumin or platelet count may improve sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV in diagnosing IBD. However, prospective studies are required to validate this conclusion.


2021 ◽  
pp. 028418512110582
Author(s):  
Ahmed Elshimy ◽  
Ahmed M Osman ◽  
Mohamed El Sayed Awad ◽  
Mohamed M Abdel Aziz

Background Although magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is often the “gold standard” for diagnosing knee problems, it has many limitations. Therefore, ultrasonography has been suggested as an effective rapid alternative in many knee abnormalities, especially after injuries of the meniscus and collateral ligaments. Purpose To determine the diagnostic accuracy of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) in detecting injuries of the meniscus and collateral ligament compared to MRI. Material and Methods An observational cross-sectional blinded study was conducted of 60 patients with clinically suspicious meniscus and collateral ligament injuries who were planned for an arthroscopy and or operative procedure. These patients underwent both blinded POCUS and MRI of the knees before the intervention procedure and results of both imaging modalities were compared according to the operative and arthroscopic findings. Results The preoperative reliability of POCUS compared to MRI for the assessment of meniscus injuries was sensitivity (92.9% vs. 90.5%), specificity (88.9% vs. 83.3%), positive predictive value (PPV; 95.1% vs. 92.7%), negative predictive value (NPV; 84.2% vs. 79%), and overall accuracy (91.7% vs. 88.3%). However, for diagnosing collateral ligament injures, POCUS versus MRI assessed sensitivity (92.3% vs. 88.5%), specificity (100% vs. 97.1%), PPV (100% vs. 95.8%), NPV (94.4% vs. 91.7%), and overall accuracy (96.7% vs. 93.3%). Conclusion Ultrasonography is a useful screening tool for the initial diagnosis of meniscal and collateral ligament pathology compared to or even with potential advantages over MRI, especially when MRI is unavailable or contraindicated. As newly advanced portable ultrasonography becomes available, it could be considered as a point-of-injury diagnostic modality.


Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Libo Wang ◽  
Jonathan Harrison ◽  
Elizabeth Dranow ◽  
Lillian Khor

Introduction: Accurate intravascular volume status assessment is central to heart failure management, but current non-invasive bedside techniques remain a challenge. The visual inspection of jugular venous pulsation (JVP) in a reclined position and measuring its height from the sternal notch has been used as a surrogate for right atrial pressure (RAP). There are no studies on the predictive value of a visible internal jugular vein (IJV) in the upright position (U 2 JVP). Hypothesis: Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) for volume assessment in the upright position is predictive of clinically significant hypervolemia. Methods: Adult patients undergoing right heart catheterization (RHC) were enrolled prior for IJV imaging with point of care ultrasound (POCUS) device, Butterfly iQ™. The IJV and its size in comparison to the carotid artery was identified on ultrasound with the patient upright. Elevated RAP and PCWP was present if the IJV was still visible and not collapsed throughout the entirety of the respiratory cycle. Valsalva was used to confirm the position of a collapsed IJV. Results: 72 participants underwent U 2 JVP assessment on the same day prior to RHC. Average BMI was 31.9 kg/m2. The area under the curve (AUC) of U 2 JVP predicting RAP greater than 10 mmHg and PCWP of 15 mmhg or higher on RHC was 0.78 (95% CI 0.66-0.9, p<0.001), with AUC of 0.86 and 0.74 for non-obese and obese subgroups respectively, p= 0.38. The finding of a visible U 2 JVP in the upright position was 70.6 % sensitive and 85.5 % specific with a negative predictive value of 90.4% for identifying both RAP greater than 10 mmHg and PCWP equal or greater than 15 mmHg. Conclusions: The U 2 JVP is novel and pragmatic bed-side approach to the assessment of clinically significant elevated intra-cardiac pressures in our increasingly obese heart failure population.


Author(s):  
Jason Fischer ◽  
Lianne McLean

This chapter highlights the increasing use of point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) in children. The size and body habitus of infants and children are often ideal for sonographic visualization and make PoCUS an ideal imaging modality for paediatric patients. PoCUS applications that have been traditionally used for adult patients are increasingly being adopted for the care of children. Paediatric-specific applications are also being developed for problems common and unique to paediatrics. Focused abdominal scans for appendicitis, intussusception, and pyloric stenosis are now frequently used in patients presenting with abdominal pain or vomiting. PoCUS can differentiate lung pathology and is helpful in the assessment of suspected skull fractures in non-verbal infants. Ongoing integration of PoCUS into shock, trauma, and triage algorithms support its increasing role in paediatric emergency and critical care.


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